July 2017 is firmly on the minds of 34 students from Lawrence Sheriff School in Rugby as they prepare for a cricket tour of a lifetime to Dubai and Sri Lanka with MSG Tours.
Led by the experienced tourist and school cricket specialist, Mr Gregory, a total of 8 matches will be played at iconic venues in Colombo, Kandy, Dambulla, Galle and Hikkaduwa. Mixing T20 with one-day fixtures, the boys will spend 10 days in Sri Lanka ahead of a 3-day stopover in the UAE on the return leg, during which a number of sporting theatres will be visited in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to provide real-life experiences for these lads who are passionate about the game, and very knowledgeable about many of the Sri Lankan national players thanks to the media available to them. Having worked with MSG’s owner on various projects for over 20 years I have no hesitation that our expectations will be surpassed on what looks an incredible itinerary from top to bottom” Mr Gregory
Several fundraising events are already planned to help make this tour achievable for all 34 players. MSG will be supporting the campaign by providing our Ambassador – ex-British & Irish Lion and England Rugby full-back, Tim Stimpson – for a fundraising dinner as well as entering a team into the forthcoming Golf Day in May.
Through their enrichment programme, all 34 students are carrying out a separate fundraising campaign to help collect and deliver to a Sri Lankan charity whilst on tour. The latter end of the cricket tour will see all participants visiting the Foundation of Goodness near Hikkaduwa for a day to work on projects including sports coaching, teaching and engagement with local children.
“Planning this tour with such passionate teachers makes this job very enjoyable. We are delighted to have been selected on merit over many other operators to handle the complex logistics and match detail.” Mark Gardner, Managing Director, MSG Tours
Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage is one of many excursions the boys will visit on their cricket tour.