Jamaica awaits: It’s no ordinary pre-season cricket tour for Littlehampton, Clapham and Patching CC

They are normally seen in action at The Sportsfield or elsewhere around the county in the summer months where they field a number of XIs in the Sussex League.

They are no strangers to the traditional cricket tour and have hosted teams visiting Sussex or have toured themselves – their most recent trip being to Devon a few years ago.

First team bowler Zack Sanderson works in the travel industry and has close ties on the cricket-crazy Caribbean island of Jamaica.

After a lot of hard work and research and with the help of contacts and friends, he put together an itinerary for a two-week tour.

The club arranged a meeting to see how much interest there would be – and thoughts of sunshine, cricket and possibly a little rum punch made it viable.

Initially they were going to tour a year ago but Covid restrictions were still in place on the island. The club decided to postpone for a year and will now be able to enjoy all Jamaica has to offer.

A party of 18 will set off from Gatwick tomorrow with 14 playing members from a mixture of the club’s teams and a small fan club in tow.

There will be 40 and 20-over games against Manchester High School, Fairfield United and the University of the West Indies, Mona.

Theywill also sightsee, play some golf… or visit one of the local rum producers. That last trip comes after the cricket matches have been played – as the players will need clear heads when they’re playing.