Putting everything into it: The Jersey squad have been training indoors throughout the winter Picture:ROB CURRIE (00883589)

JERSEY cricketers break new ground next weekend with a four-day programme in India to help them prepare for their World Cricket League Division V tournament in Nepal, which starts the following Saturday, 20 February.

The India part of the trip is seen as being crucial to the success of the Nepal venture, with the time spent acclimatising to conditions and pitches expected to give Jersey the best possible chance of emulating their feat of gaining promotion from the division when they hosted it in May 2008.

Jersey, subsequently relegated in the Division IV tournament in Tanzania, will hope to have a far better start to this competition, their first-ever in the sub continent, thanks to training and playing three warm-up matches in India.

The Jersey Cricket Board’s trip to Chandigarh, the capital of the twin states of Punjab and Haryana, close to India’s border with Nepal, is being supported by Minerva Financial Services.