Postcards from Stellenbosch: Inside Warwickshire's pre-season tour to South Africa

The squad got stuck in Dubai for an extra day in 2025 due to a fire at Heathrow airport, 2020 saw a global pandemic cut short every county team’s overseas trips and in 2026, those who were set to take a flight to the middle east, a very popular place to prepare for the season, were grounded in the UK due to the ongoing missile fire across the Gulf.

It's fair to say there was a relief from the Warwickshire lads as we learned that our trip would still be going ahead in South Africa. We weren’t sure if the PCA were going to put a blanket ban on the trips away due to safety, but that wasn’t the case and the affected counties have found new destinations.

Luckily for us, the decision to change destination from Abu Dhabi to Stellenbosch was made well in advance and we have enjoyed a week of hot weather and a good standard of cricket. A lot of the squad have experienced the UAE multiple times now and the coaching staff decided it was time to have a change for off-field benefit, in terms of affordable activities for the squad to partake in away from training, but also, to play cricket against multiple opposition and use the facilities at the Newlands cricket ground.