I began the interview by asking Andrew when he was due to leave and why he had chosen India.

Its next Saturday I go (17^th) just for ten days. I go to Mumbai to the World Cricket Academy. We went there last November, I think there were 8 of us that went, six batters and Laws and Daws as well. We went out for ten days and it was really good experience learning how to play against spin in adverse conditions or real turn and bouncy pitches and it really helped me develop my game. I thought this winter would be a good opportunity to get out there again. I approached the club and asked if there was any funding and they put me through to a few people that have helped me. I’m really looking forward to going out there and hitting some balls.

After your trip last year did you feel you benefited from it last summer?

Yeah. I’ve always been a decent player of spin, but manipulating spin in one day cricket has always been quite an issue for me so when I went out there it just gave me a few more shots and the confidence to play them in the one day matches last year.

When you’re facing a quick bowler you can use the pace on the ball. With a spinner it’s a different proposition isn’t it?

Especially in one day cricket where the spinners come on straight away after the 15 overs. You really have to find a way of picking up your 4 or 5 runs an over. I had to work on four or five shots where I could score those runs. India really helped me with that. The coaching out there is spot on - Hanumant Singh who sadly died just before Christmas – he played for India in the sixties. He was a really good coach and he helped me a lot. I thought this winter was an ideal opportunity to go back out there and get some more experience.

What sort of shots are you practising out there?

They’re not that big on sweeping. They work on manipulating the ball, either straight down the ground or to the sweep fielders, and not just with the spin but against the spin as well. They look at chipping over the top for 2’s and 3’s.

Teams can get bogged down in the middle of the innings if the spinners bowl well.

It is tough and when I first came in as a junior to the side I felt quite pressured. A young lad comes in and they’ve got a spinner on, bring all the field up and you feel a bit trapped. It’s about taking calculated risks really. I found that India gave me the shots to work out how to get down the other end. It is quite a pressurised time when the spinners come on. Not all of them try and spin it - they just bog you down really. Before you know it they are quickly through their over, the overs gone and you’ve only picked up 1 or 2 runs. It was really beneficial to work on that stuff in India.

So you’re out there for ten days. What’s the set up like? What do you do with your days out there?

There’s going to be eight Essex lads out there and two Durham lads with me. They’ve usually got about 20 or 25 bowlers on hand all day for you. They have three nets set up and you can basically bat as long as you want which suits me down the ground – you can start batting at half nine in the morning and keep batting till half five (laughs). I’ll just work on different things. They put eight stumps out instead of the normal three so you have to play every ball and you get away from the negativity of padding off and getting bogged down. You’re defending eight stumps so it takes the defensive issue out of your game really. They tend to think that the English play quite a lot with their pads and they think that’s negative so they try and make you play at the ball all the time.

Last year we did yoga every day at six o’clock when the sun was just coming down we did an hour with the yoga teacher. Then we’d just settle down have a bite to eat and you’re so tired from the day’s activities that you’re straight to bed. There’s not much else to do to be honest.

Mumbai – that’s the old Bombay isn’t it?

Yeah. The place where I’m going is the CCI – the Cricket Club of India. They used to play Test cricket there at the Brabourne Stadium about ten years ago, but I think they’ve changed it now to the Wankhede Stadium and play their Test cricket there now. The CCI is like a members club really. On a night it’s unbelievable – they fill the field with tables and chairs and people come and sit and have drinks and people run around the field. They pay quite a lot of money for their membership and then you walk out on the streets and see the poverty and it’s so different.

And if you could say anything to the ladies and gents that have helped with the sponsorship?

I’d just like to thank all of the people that have supported me from The Corridor of Uncertainty. It was a great gesture and it will help me a hell of a deal to go to India and hopefully I can repay them with some runs during the season and help to make Yorkshire the success that we want to be. I’d just like to thank them really. I do read the website and if the supporters keep getting behind the players that will be really good so we can get some success at Yorkshire again.

Thanks to Andrew for his time prior to leaving for India. On behalf of The Corridor I’d like to wish him a safe and successful trip and as a result a very successful 2007 season - we really are right behind you!

Andrew (as Joe has also stated) is keen to help The Corridor in any way he can over the summer. We’ll catch up with him when he returns to our shores at the end of February and stay in touch with him over the summer to see how he’s getting on.

We have had a tremendous response to our sponsorship drive. For those of you that were not aware we are sponsoring Andrew and Joe’s winter trips and also Greg Wood for the season. We still have a few shares (and I mean a few!) in the sponsorship available – in return for your financial assistance you not only get a personal sense of pride in the three players future accomplishments but are also entered into an end of season draw where there will be some seriously exciting items of cricket memorabilia up for grabs. For further information on how you too can get involved email James on jimmy69@gotadsl.co.uk.

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