FRESH from test matches in South Africa and Wales, Dean Morgan travels to Manchester this weekend for a taste of the green that will be used for the Commonwealth Games.

This will be the first time the Hampshire bowler and the rest of the England team will have played on the specially created surface - and it certainly won't be the last in the run-up to the Games which open on July 25.

Besides practice sessions England have a test series there on June 14-17 against Ireland, Scotland and Wales, Morgan representing the Three Lions as lead with his pairs partner Steve Farish from Cumbria.

England's second trip to South Africa inside five months opened with weather very different to the 90 degrees they had encountered at Durban before Christmas. "It was typically English - we had to use wet weather gear for the first two days," said 32-year-old Morgan.

This time the squad were based at Cape Town and they began with fixtures against Western Province. England won both overall with Morgan and Farish taking their first game 15-9 and the second 23-14.

That set the tourists up for two tests against South Africa. After being level at 15-15 the English pair triumphed 27-15 against Gerry Baker and Shaun Addinall - both of whom have played in World Bowls - but the following day the South Africans gained revenge 21-10.

"The greens were quick and very much to the home side's liking. Coming from our indoor season straight to the outdoor made it difficult to adapt. They had had two days' practice on the surface whereas we had been given two hours on the Monday," said Morgan after England drew the first test overall and lost the second.

Back in Wales Morgan and colleagues had to adapt once more on a heavy and unpredictable green at Llandrindod Wells in three tests against Wales. The Middleton Cup regular from Boscombe Cliff and his partner won two out of three as England comfortably took the series 3-0.

"The preparation is going very well. It has been very much a team thing with the emphasis not only on playing together but being together. That has certainly helped Steve and myself. We live at opposite ends of the country but we have been able to have more games together than we could ever have expected."