Last year the pandemic led to the cancellation of the Club's annual cricket tour to Devon - the first time the tour has failed to take place after 73 consecutive expeditions to the southwest of England.

Normally held at the end of May across the late-May bank holiday, Covid and the associated restrictions continue to pose an issue for the smooth running of the trip and potential for tourists to enjoy the full tour experience - both on the playing field and off it.

So, rather than cancel tour for a second year running, we've managed to move the 2021 tour to later later in the summer, thanks to the efforts of Paul Frost and Chris Evans.

New Dates and Fixtures
The Club will now make its 74th annual tour of the beautiful South Devon region from Sunday 22th August to Friday 27th August. Currently, the tour features 4 matches:

• Sunday - Exeter CC;
• Monday - Thorverton CC;
• Tuesday - Seaton CC;
• Wednesday - TBD/Rest day;
• Thursday - Devon Dumplings.

Playing, Lady, Social Members and families are all welcome on tour. Tourists can join the party for any number or combination of nights, as well for the full week.

Accommodation
We've managed to secure rooms at regular haunt the Padbrook Park Hotel and Golf Resort (Tel: 01884 836100) (http://www.padbrookpark.co.uk/) in the village of Cullompton. The club has reserved 15 double/twin rooms at the hotel from Sunday to Thursday night. Price £45 per person per night room only. For further details, contact the Tour Manager, Paul Frost (details below).

Early-bird booking discount for all - 5%
Once again we are offering a 5% early bird discount for anyone who signs up and pays in full for their accommodation by the end of May.

Young tourists discount - 10%
This year we'll continue to offer a 10% discount to all tourists under 25 years old (age as at 29 May) to encourage our younger members to experience Devon tour week. For those younger tourists able to commit and pay by the end of May, this discount will apply in addition to the early bird discount above resulting in a whopping 15% off the normal price.

NOTE: All payments are refundable if tour is cancelled due to the introduction of a new Covid lockdown.

Who to contact
To get an estimate of numbers, those interested in touring are asked to contact the Tour Manager:
Paul Frost, on 07590 439130 or e-mail paulfrost79@sky.com.
Please indicate which nights you would require accommodation and which matches, if any, you are available to play.

For those wanting to taking advantage of the early bird offer, payment should be made to the Club bank account by the end of May, details as follows:

Ashford Cricket Club
sort code: 30-94-42
account number: 01658116
(And if you can please include a reference with "Your name & tour".)

Please send a message to both Paul Frost and to the Club Treasurer Saad Choudhary (treasurer@ashfordcc.co.uk) advising of your payment.