Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Yorkshire bowling coach Mick Lewis is back in Melbourne for Christmas.
The Ashes may well be done and dusted, but that will not stop thousands of England fans from descending on Melbourne and Sydney for the Christmas and New Year’s Tests over the next fortnight.
Amongst that number will no doubt be a whole host of Yorkshire fans.
Earlier this winter, White Rose men’s bowling coach Mick Lewis and head coach Anthony McGrath sat down to preview the Ashes, and we asked Melburnian Lewis to change roles for a moment to travel advisor.
How would be best for Yorkshire fans Down Under to spend their Christmas?
“They could all come round to your house, couldn’t they, Mick,” quipped McGrath.
“Look, Melbourne will be buzzing,” said Lewis, the former Australia limited overs seamer. “Around the inner city, leading into Boxing Day, it’ll be pretty exciting.
“But, if I was them, I’d try and get out to the wineries either in the Yarra Valley or to a place called Mitchelton. You can catch a helicopter up there, have a feed and even stay the night and stuff like that.
“The one thing about Melbourne, you can also swim in the ocean there because we don’t have big sharks. They’re not as big as they are on the West Coast, anyway.”
Asked if he liked the sound of that kind of thing, McGrath added: “The wineries, but not the sharks!”
Lewis has returned home for the bulk of the winter and will lead a month-long training camp for up to a dozen Yorkshire men’s players in Melbourne, in conjunction with Cricket Victoria, from late January onwards.
The likes of Dom Bess, Ben Coad, George Hill and James Wharton will all head out to join those already playing grade cricket in the city.
“That will be in conjunction with Cricket Victoria,” said McGrath. “For us to be able to use their facilities, it’s brilliant.
“They’ll integrate with the Victoria squad, which will be good as well for development.
“We have a real good selection this winter of people playing cricket abroad – being out on grass instead of being in the indoor school.
“That means by the time we get to Abu Dhabi for pre-season tour (March), we will be ready to ramp things up ahead of the start of April.”
And, as for Christmas in the Lewis household, the man himself added: “Our family, we generally don’t do a big Christmas Day thing because everybody is busy.
“We try and do it a couple of days beforehand.
“The last couple of years we’ve actually gone to the pub, had a meal there and a few beers so we don’t have to worry about anyone cooking.”
