England return from Germany trip

England's cricketers have returned from their top-secret pre-Ashes bonding camp, which took them to Bavaria in southern Germany. The players departed last Thursday for the five-day trip organised by Reg Dickason, the team's security officer, with only Andy Flower and his closest management aware of the destination beforehand.

The players were told just to bring passports and walking boots and leave mobile phones behind, so there was no tweeting from Graeme Swann or Kevin Pietersen during the trip. They have spent the last few days near Nuremberg taking part in mental and physical challenges including boxing, hiking and abseiling.

The trip was rounded off on Tuesday by a visit to the memorial site at Dachau, the first of Hitler's concentration camps where more than 40,000 people died during the twelve years of its existence from 1933-1945.

"Following our trip to Flanders last year, this was an opportunity for the players to spend time away from the cricketing environment, learn more about the wider world and develop ourselves both individually and collectively," Andrew Strauss, the England captain, said. "It was a tough but rewarding five days and I know every player has gained greater insight into themselves, their own team environment and environments outside cricket."

The visit to Ypres before last year's Ashes didn't go without a few hitches as Andrew Flintoff missed the team bus one morning while Ravi Bopara forgot his passport and neither incident went down well with the team management. So far, at least, this latest expedition appears to have gone smoothly.

Having completed an arduous season last Wednesday, when they secured the one-day series against Pakistan with victory at the Rose Bowl, the players weren't thrilled with the prospect of the secret trip, but can now put their feet up for a few weeks before the squad comes back together ahead of leaving for Australia on October 29.