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Trip of a lifetime

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE paceman Nathan Buck had nothing but praise for the club’s pre-season tour to Singapore, the first stage of a ground-breaking new partnership.

“It feels like it was such a long time ago now, but Singapore was probably one of the best pre-season tours I’ve ever been on,” he said. “It’s unlike anywhere I’ve been before, you’re playing cricket in the middle of the city, everything was pretty much within walking distance.

“The whole set-up was class, from pretty much the first moment we turned up we knew it was going to be a good trip.”

Northamptonshire’s partnership with the Singapore Cricket Club and Singapore Cricket Association is the cornerstone of the club’s new Global Partnership Strategy, designed to expand the reach of the club into key territories across the world.

While the Global Partnership Strategy is still in its infancy, Nathan can already see its potential.

“The partnership the club is establishing is great, I think it’s only going to get better next year through the people we meet, the businesses we meet and the community we go into,” he said.

The tour was the first time Singapore Cricket Club had hosted a first-class county and their facilities did not disappoint.

“Obviously we were there for cricket but in terms of the whole package I think it had it all,” said Nathan.

“The facilities were top drawer, two good practice wickets and then the pitch we played the matches on was good, too. You don’t ever quite know what the wickets are going to be like when you head to somewhere new, but I think everyone was impressed.

“They looked after us well socially off the pitch too, they were very accommodating. They hosted a few events for us and it was just spot on. Singapore has a pretty incredible culture, the food and the atmosphere in general was amazing.”

Despite the success of all aspects of the tour, the developing coronavirus situation back home in the UK saw it cut short by a couple of days.

“I was definitely disappointed the tour was cut short, I think everyone felt very safe over there.” said Nathan. “But obviously we all have a duty of care at home so we all just wanted to come back and be with our families. I love cricket but it becomes a bit irrelevant when you look at the big picture right now.”

For more information about Northamptonshire County Cricket Club visit www.nccc.co.uk

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