England and Australia will be teeing off before a ball is bowled in the Ashes, with some of the country’s most prestigious golf courses staging preparations for both men’s teams before the summer’s marquee Test series.
Australia arrive in the UK this weekend for the World Test Championship final against India, which gets under way at the Oval on 7 June. In addition to training and intra-squad cricket at Beckenham – there are no county warm-up matches scheduled – the tourists are reported to have lined up golf at Formby on Merseyside.
But England’s lust for the fairways is greater, starting with rounds at Stoke Park in Buckinghamshire in between training for the one-off four-day Test against Ireland that starts on Thursday. The luxury course has a cricket connection, too, having been bought by Mukesh Ambani, the owner of Mumbai Indians, for £57m last year.
On the Monday after Lord’s, England players begin a scheduled week off by taking part in the Professional Cricketers’ Association golf day at the Grove in Hertfordshire. After this, a number fly up to Scotland, with St Andrews (the old course), Gleneagles and even the exclusive Loch Lomond said to have been lined up.
This initial party heading to Scotland is a privately arranged trip for anyone keen to keep swinging. But the full squad will be there for a pre-Ashes camp over the weekend – golf once again included – before travelling to Edgbaston to resume three days of nets in the run-up to the first Ashes Test on 16 June.
A buildup that will cost a pretty penny in green fees, it is in keeping with the current approach ensuring players relax before major events and also very on-brand for the England leadership. Rob Key, the director of men’s cricket, Brendon McCullum, the head coach, and Ben Stokes, the captain, are all keen players.
McCullum, flying in for the summer from New Zealand, believes in players reforging bonds after time spent apart. The head coach also has a wider theory that, in an era where the financial pull of the franchise Twenty20 circuit is turning heads, it is becoming essential to make international cricket a lifestyle choice.
Last winter, England’s Test players spent a day at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix before the tour of Pakistan, a series they went on to win 3-0. Their 1-1 draw in New Zealand in February was preceded by a four-day golf and adventure sports camp on the South Island, while their cricket kit bags remained in Auckland.
Noting an uptick in the intensity of training that followed, McCullum said then: “There’s so many options these days that you’ve got to make Test cricket enjoyable, not just on the field but off the field too.
“We want to try to get those guys to know that when they board the plane to head overseas, or jump into the car to head down to Lord’s, it is to join up with the team and they know they’re going to have a great time. The results will hopefully follow.
“You can’t guarantee that but what you can do is put some money in the bank when it comes to experiences and relationships. I think for too long – I always felt this when playing, anyway – that everything was based around the cricket and sometimes you forgot to enjoy yourself. That’s the theory. We’ll see how it works out but it’s worth a crack.”
England’s last home Ashes in 2019 came straight after the World Cup, with Ireland’s previous visit to Lord’s leaving no time for a pre-series camp. For the 2015 Ashes the hosts travelled to Spain for a short golf trip, although some fielding work also took place.
