Australian WBBL outfits the Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunder have recently returned from a training camp that came to a conclusion with a T20 match at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium on Sunday ahead of the Big Bash League season.

The inaugural visit was organised by us at Sporta Tours and received rave reviews from the players and coaches:

View photos of the tours on the Sixers’ Facebook page here and the Thunder’s page here.

Roger Myall, Sales Director for Sporta Tours, said “we’ve been very pleased with the overall tour and it went very well”.

“The girls have loved it even though it’s been a bit hot. They enjoyed training at the ICC Academy and playing at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.”

“Depending on their calendar and plans, we hope they can come back as we see this as a viable opportunity for their season preparations ahead.”

Sydney Sixers coach, Ben Sawyer, was also open returning. “Yes without a doubt, the girls were saying if we could ever fit it in our schedule, it would be an unreal pre-season trip.”

During their visit, the Thunder and Sixers, who boast Australia’s Ellyse Perry and the West Indies’ World Cup winning captain Stafanie Taylor, also trained with the UAE national team.

Impressed by what they saw, UAE quartet Natasha Michael, Esha Oza, Chaya Mughal and Chaitrali Kalgutkar were chosen to play in the game in the capital.

Roger Myall was delighted the girls were given a chance and insists they are keen to help the UAE, who have won the Gulf Cup twice in succession, to strive.

“The UAE women’s side is getting stronger year by year and they’ve made massive strides,” he said. “We have taken women’s sides from the UK out to the UAE before to play in a tournament alongside the UAE, and we’re keen to support as much as possible”.

All-rounder Michael felt she learned a lot from the match and training session and insists it’s vital that her team-mates experience more opportunities.

“It would be great for everyone if the Sydney sides or any other sides trained here,” said the 21-year-old. “We learned a lot in just three hours and if more teams came here and trained with us, we can improve and learn even more quickly.”

Credit to Denzil Pinto, Sport360