Somerset trio all set to face James Bryant in Port Elizabeth

The Somerset trio, Ian Blackwell, Andy Caddick and Marcus Trescothick and the rest of their England colleagues have now moved onto the next stage of their World Cup preparations.

Over the weekend Ian Blackwell told me: "We are now in Port Elizabeth having just come to the end of a well deserved three day break in Sun City which was absolutely fantastic."

For `Blackie' who is a very capable and competitive golfer, Sun City with it's well appointed golf courses was an ideal venue for a break. The young all rounder who has been one of the success stories of the England tour this winter continued: "We had two days golfing playing both courses, the Lost City and the Gary Player, where they play the Nedbank Two Million Dollar Challenge, and what fantastic courses they are. The Gary Player is ranked the third best course in the world and boy it was in good nick."

He continued: "We picked two sides and played a Ryder Cup format competition. Our side lost 7 points to 3 although I did bring in 2 of the points playing really well. I shot a 90 on the Lost City course which wasn't too bad in the circumstances. There is a crocodile pit on the side of the green by the thirteenth hole which was a bit scary, but thankfully I didn't lose a ball in there."

`Blackie' went on: "I then shot an 85 on the Gary Player which I was over the moon with. The best thing was meeting Darren Clarke who played with Michael Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff on one of the days. He shot a lazy 70 apparently."

He continued: " We had three cracking days and we are now in Port Elizabeth where we are going to be based for a while. We play against Eastern Province on Tuesday in our first game, and their side will include James Bryant, one of Somerset's new signings, which will be interesting. It will be good to meet him and also gauge how good he is. I'm sure our coach Kevin Shine will be after a report."

Looking ahead to the World Cup `Blackie' said: "Things are looking in good shape for the big tournament. We regroup now and will be practicing in Port Elizabeth ahead of our first game, which is not too far away now and I'm really looking forward to it."