What actually happens when you take a group of young Australian cricketers, fly them 17,000km from home, and put them in an unfamiliar environment for three weeks? Tommy from Newcastle Cricket Academy (NCA) has been finding out since 2019. I sat down with Tommy to talk about why international touring sits at the heart of NCA's development philosophy and why the player who comes home is never quite the same one who left.
1. Newcastle Cricket Academy is built around long-term player development, including technique, mindset, and confidence. What was the impetus for you to decide that touring internationally was an essential part of that development, not just a bonus?
Look, I got to a point where I realised we could do all the right things at training and we do, we put a lot into technique, mindset, decision-making but their comes a point you have to put players in situations where none of that safety net exists.
Overseas tours does that immediately, forces players to adapt. Different wickets. Different weather. Different opposition. Different expectations.. And suddenly there is no familiar routine to fall back on.
That's when you find out what a player is actually made of. Can they solve a problem on their own? Can they perform when they're uncomfortable? Can they back themselves?
That's what I wanted to find out. And honestly, that's what they needed to find out about themselves. So that is why touring has always been a core part of our pathway, not simply a reward for being involved.
2. You've now taken your cricket groups to the UK since 2019 with us, and we are midway through planning for 2027. How has the way you think about and plan these tours evolved over that time?
Massively. In 2019 I was pretty focused on the cricket, who are we playing, where are we training, what's the schedule. Classic coach brain. Now I barely recognise that version of the tour.
The preparation starts months out. We're talking about professionalism, recovery, what it actually means to be part of a travelling group. And we're much more deliberate now about making space for the experience beyond the cricket.
Walking through Lord's. Getting lost in a new city. Figuring out an airport together. That stuff is part of the program now, not just filler between games.
What I have found is if I ask any player from our early tours what they remember most, it's rarely the scorecards. It's actually the people and the moments.
“A lot of them have their first real 'I could actually do something with this" moment over there'. And the conditions don't let you hide. The ball swings, the pitches are slower, you have to actually think. That's a great thing for a young player to experience, it teaches resilience. Players quickly learn that talent alone isn’t enough. They must think, adapt and compete. So yeah, those lessons stay with them long after the tour finishes".
3. England and its cricket culture are about as iconic as it gets, the county grounds, the school fixtures, the history of the game. What does playing in that environment actually do to a young Australian cricketer's mentality and ambition?
It shifts something in them pretty quickly, actually. Most of our players have grown up in a pretty specific bubble be it local cricket, rep pathways, the same faces. Then they land in England and suddenly the game feels completely different. More embedded in everything around them. And for many players it’s the first time they genuinely start dreaming bigger.
A lot of them have their first real "I could actually do something with this" moment over there. Whether that's walking past a county ground or competing against a kid from the other side of the world who is just as good as them.
And the conditions don't let you hide. The ball swings, the pitches are slower, you have to actually think. That's a great thing for a young player to experience, it teaches resilience. Players quickly learn that talent alone isn’t enough. They must think, adapt and compete. So yeah, those lessons stay with them long after the tour finishes.
4. At NCA you focus heavily on the individual technique, footwork, mindset. Does touring reinforce that individual development, or does it shift something in the group dynamic that you can't replicate back home?
Both, but coaches consistently underestimate the group side of it and I did too early on.
The individual stuff takes care of itself pretty quickly as conditions expose you fast and players have to respond. But what I've come to value more is what happens between the players.
Three weeks living in each other's pockets. Travelling together, eating together, dealing with setbacks together. You see who steps up, who looks after others, who struggles and how they handle it.
Back home they go back to their families every night. On tour, they only have each other. That changes the dynamic completely and you simply cannot manufacture that environment at home. The friendships formed and lessons learned often accelerate development far beyond what happens purely on the cricket field.
5. A cricket tour is long days, shared rooms, unfamiliar food, jet lag, pressure to perform. How do you as a coach use those uncomfortable moments rather than just manage them, to build something in the group?
I don't try to smooth everything over, that's the short answer. I’ve always believed growth sits on the other side of discomfort. As coaches, our job isn’t to remove every challenge.
If a kid is struggling, tired, out of form, homesick my job isn't to fix it for them. My job is to help them work through it themselves.
We talk a lot about what you can control. Can you still prepare properly? Can you still bring a positive attitude? Can you still be a great teammate? Can you still compete regardless of circumstances? Those moments teach resilience better than any motivational speech ever could. And when a player gets through one of those moments, and genuinely gets through it, the confidence that comes out the other side is real. It's not something we gave them. They earned it and that's the key difference. That’s a really powerful thing for a young person to discover.
6. What's a moment from the UK tours on or off the field that you still think about when you're explaining to a parent or player why this is worth doing?
The moments I remember most aren’t always the standout performances to be honest. They’re the moments where i see the growth. I’ve seen players arrive quiet, nervous and uncertain before gradually becoming confident, independent young adults over the course of a tour.
I’ve seen teammates who barely knew each other become lifelong friends.
I’ve watched players battle difficult conditions, fail, regroup and then succeed a few days later because they refused to give up.
As a coach, those transformations are incredibly rewarding. And when parents ask if it’s worth it, I tell them the same thing every time:
The player who comes home is often more mature, more resilient and more confident than the one who left, and that’s the real value.
7. Some say we’re raising a generation of young athletes who have never known a world without smartphones, social media and constant digital noise. What do you actually see happen between the group when they're together, for example on a bus, at a ground, sharing a meal in a town they've never been to… are the phones are down?
They become humans again, basically. I'm only half joking. You watch them go from heads down to actually looking at each other. Conversations start and stories come out. You see personalities that genuinely never appear on a screen.
The bus becomes a place where things happen. Meals become something worth having. And I think for a lot of these kids it's one of the first times they've just... been somewhere, without documenting it.
From a team perspective, that's where the real bonds form. And in my experience, teams that genuinely like each other tend to perform better under pressure.
Touring creates those opportunities naturally. The friendships built on those trips are often still strong years later.
8. Taking young players overseas is a significant responsibility. How do you talk to parents about the value of touring, and what do they tell you when the group gets home?
I'm pretty upfront with them. I tell them we're not running a cricket trip. We're running a experience that accelerates development that happens to involve a lot of cricket. Yes, there will be quality coaching. Yes, there will be excellent opposition. Yes, there will be fantastic facilities and cricket experiences. But the biggest gains are often confidence, independence, resilience and maturity.
What's interesting is what they say when the kids come home. Almost none of them lead with cricket. They talk about how their kid seemed different. More organised. More confident in themselves. Less reliant on having everything figured out before they back themselves.
That’s what parents remember. The cricket is important, but the personal growth is what leaves the lasting impact in my experience.
9. You're already in the planning stages for the next UK tour. What does it mean to have a touring partner who is onboard every step of the way and how does that long-lead planning process affect what you're actually able to deliver on the ground?
A great touring partner allows us to focus on what matters most - the players. The reality is that international tours involve countless moving parts. Flights, accommodation, transport, fixtures, venues, communication and contingency planning.
Having a trusted partner who understands our vision and supports the process from start to finish is invaluable. The earlier planning starts, the better experience we can create.
It allows us to secure quality fixtures, access outstanding venues and prepare players thoroughly before departure. Most importantly, it removes uncertainty.
That means when we arrive in England, our focus can be entirely on player development and creating a memorable experience rather than solving logistical problems.
If you're ready to take your team abroad to the world stage, check out our Youth Sport Tours or get in touch with our team to start planning your school's next great adventure.
Tommy has dedicated his life to cricket in Newcastle. His approach is grounded in technical detail, consistency and structured development, but also in building genuine connections with the players he coaches. He takes pride in understanding each athlete’s strengths, challenges and learning style, creating an environment where they feel supported and capable.
What sets Tommy apart is his ability to balance high-performance standards with clear communication and a calm, steady coaching presence. He believes that strong fundamentals, repetition and confidence form the foundation of every cricketer’s development and his coaching reflects that philosophy every session. Find out more about Newcastle Cricket Club.
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