Sarisbury Athletic cricket captain Matt Journeaux, left, is preparing for an Arabian Adventure which will see him take up a sports teaching appointment in Dubai for the next two years.
A prominent all-rounder, he will step down as Sarisbury captain after the home match with Hook & Newnham Basics on August 12 – by which time he hopes the club will be safe from relegation.
Journeaux’s magic carpet ride will take him to the Safa Community School, which is located five minutes from Dubai Sports City.
“They follow the UK curriculum and, you might imagine, the sports facilities seem second to none, with an outdoor swimming pool, as well as a six-lane athletics track,” he smiled.
Educated locally at St Mary’s, Bitterne (he was in the same year group as AFC Bournemouth midfielder Andrew Surman) and then Barton Peveril College, Journeaux explained he had been eyeing a teaching career in the Emirates for some time.
“I’ve been looking for a few years at going to Dubai and travel a bit.
“I have friends who have been in the UAE for five years now and love it.
“I went to visit them in February and realised it's definitely somewhere I could fit in. The tax free lifestyle and having accommodation thrown in was a major plus too !
“My teaching contract is for a minimum of two years and I’ll have to see how things are going after that.”
The Emirates is a thriving cricket region, but Journeaux, 30, says he has no intention to unpack his whites and play cricket there straight away.
“I’m actually looking forward to a bit of time out, getting rid of a few niggles I have and then come back for the second half of the 2018 season and help Sarisbury win the league.
“I should get six or seven games in during July and August,” he adds.
Journeaux, who leads from the front with both bat and ball at Sarisbury Athletic, certainly has some fond memories of his time at the club.
“I joined Sarisbury as a ten year old in 1996 when the late Ray Hammond was colts coordinator,” he recalled.
“I have very successful junior age group memories both indoors and out.
“I think as U13s, we made the ECB national quarter finals with the likes of Pete Hammond, James Ingram and Andy Evans also in the side.”
He made his first team debut as a 15-year old against Calmore Sports in 2002 and hit an unbeaten double century the following season.
“I was made captain in 2004, aged 17, which didn’t prove a great idea.
“We made our way through the leagues at quite a pace, winning County Division 1 before celebrating more successes in the Premier League.
“We twice won the Division One title in three seasons (2012 and 2014) then, after we’d spent £60,000 on ground improvements at Allotment Road, got into the top ECB division, where we also made it through to a T20 final at the Ageas Bowl.
“It was a momentous achievement for a club of our size.”
So too was twice lifting the national indoor sixes title at Lord’s.
“We made three Lord’s finals in four years and became national indoor champions on the last two occasions – again memories to treasure.
“We lost there, rather controversially, to a hand picked South Wales team the first time, but won it in 2015 and again this year. We weren’t expected to win it, so it meant more to us,” he said.
Journeaux has just spent his last week teaching at Parkfield School (Bournemouth), which he joined after stints at Crestwood College and Hounsdown School, near Totton.
He will play another three Premier Division 1 matches for Sarisbury Athletic before jetting off on his magic carpet ride to the Emirates.
“We’re in the mid-table of a very competitive league, where all the sides are capable of beating one another, as the results have shown all summer,” he said.
“We’re 30 points clear of the relegation zone, but if we can beat Rowledge this Saturday we’ll be well clear.
There’s still a lot of cricket to be played yet and I’m anxious Sarisbury Athletic are safe by the time I go.”
Ricky Rawlins is expected to step into Journeaux’s captaincy role in mid-August.
A prominent all-rounder, he will step down as Sarisbury captain after the home match with Hook & Newnham Basics on August 12 – by which time he hopes the club will be safe from relegation.
Journeaux’s magic carpet ride will take him to the Safa Community School, which is located five minutes from Dubai Sports City.
“They follow the UK curriculum and, you might imagine, the sports facilities seem second to none, with an outdoor swimming pool, as well as a six-lane athletics track,” he smiled.
Educated locally at St Mary’s, Bitterne (he was in the same year group as AFC Bournemouth midfielder Andrew Surman) and then Barton Peveril College, Journeaux explained he had been eyeing a teaching career in the Emirates for some time.
“I’ve been looking for a few years at going to Dubai and travel a bit.
“I have friends who have been in the UAE for five years now and love it.
“I went to visit them in February and realised it's definitely somewhere I could fit in. The tax free lifestyle and having accommodation thrown in was a major plus too !
“My teaching contract is for a minimum of two years and I’ll have to see how things are going after that.”
The Emirates is a thriving cricket region, but Journeaux, 30, says he has no intention to unpack his whites and play cricket there straight away.
“I’m actually looking forward to a bit of time out, getting rid of a few niggles I have and then come back for the second half of the 2018 season and help Sarisbury win the league.
“I should get six or seven games in during July and August,” he adds.
Journeaux, who leads from the front with both bat and ball at Sarisbury Athletic, certainly has some fond memories of his time at the club.
“I joined Sarisbury as a ten year old in 1996 when the late Ray Hammond was colts coordinator,” he recalled.
“I have very successful junior age group memories both indoors and out.
“I think as U13s, we made the ECB national quarter finals with the likes of Pete Hammond, James Ingram and Andy Evans also in the side.”
He made his first team debut as a 15-year old against Calmore Sports in 2002 and hit an unbeaten double century the following season.
“I was made captain in 2004, aged 17, which didn’t prove a great idea.
“We made our way through the leagues at quite a pace, winning County Division 1 before celebrating more successes in the Premier League.
“We twice won the Division One title in three seasons (2012 and 2014) then, after we’d spent £60,000 on ground improvements at Allotment Road, got into the top ECB division, where we also made it through to a T20 final at the Ageas Bowl.
“It was a momentous achievement for a club of our size.”
So too was twice lifting the national indoor sixes title at Lord’s.
“We made three Lord’s finals in four years and became national indoor champions on the last two occasions – again memories to treasure.
“We lost there, rather controversially, to a hand picked South Wales team the first time, but won it in 2015 and again this year. We weren’t expected to win it, so it meant more to us,” he said.
Journeaux has just spent his last week teaching at Parkfield School (Bournemouth), which he joined after stints at Crestwood College and Hounsdown School, near Totton.
He will play another three Premier Division 1 matches for Sarisbury Athletic before jetting off on his magic carpet ride to the Emirates.
“We’re in the mid-table of a very competitive league, where all the sides are capable of beating one another, as the results have shown all summer,” he said.
“We’re 30 points clear of the relegation zone, but if we can beat Rowledge this Saturday we’ll be well clear.
There’s still a lot of cricket to be played yet and I’m anxious Sarisbury Athletic are safe by the time I go.”
Ricky Rawlins is expected to step into Journeaux’s captaincy role in mid-August.
