Orissa cricketers to tour Australia

CUTTACK: The Orissa Cricket Association has decided to send the team of 21 Ranji players to Australia for exposure. They will leave on Friday. They will play one-day and T20 matches with the local cricket clubs of Australia under the guidance of state coach Michael Bevan. This is first ever international tour of the state players and the OCA will spend around Rs 45 lakh on it.
"Cricket practice stops during monsoon in Orissa due to unavailability of grounds.To utilize the time, coach Bevan suggested the team to go to Australia and we agreed," OCA secretary Asirbad Behera said. OCA officials said cricket in Australia is in a very developed stage and its players are quite strong in every department of the game. Hence, the Australia tour will definitely provide an opportunity to every player of our team to develop his style and technique. This exposure will help them to perform better in the ensuing domestic matches of BCCI.
Players are also excited about the tour. "Definitely it's a golden opportunity for us. We can learn a lot from the Australian players," a cricketer said. OCA has informed that different corporate houses have come forward to sponsor the tour.