West Indies players resume ‘closed-door’ training amid strict guidelines

With the Cricket West Indies CEO confident of the England tour in July, the Caribbean national players resumed training on Monday (May 25) in small groups. Skipper Jason Holder, Kraigg Brathwaite, Shai Hope, Kemar Roach, Shane Dowrich, Shamarh Brooks and Raymon Reifer hit the nets at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.

The medical committee of Cricket West Indies (CWI) released a list of strict protocols to be followed by all members of the team after due approvals from the local government. Several coaches from the Barbados Cricket Association were present in this training session held ‘behind closed doors’, alongside West Indies assistant coach Roddy Estwick.

Other Windies players are expected to join the training later this week as CWI continues their conversation with the England Cricket Board (ECB) over the potential 3-Test series in July.

“Based on the information we have at the moment, everyone is getting increasingly confident that the tour will happen at some point this summer,” said CWI CEO Johnny Grave.

“Our next Board of Directors Teleconference is on May 28 and if the tour has to take place as currently planned, by the start of June, we would need to have their approval and support by then in order to get the charter flight logistics in place and select the players.”

Meanwhile, the ECB has also taken a step forward in anticipation of resuming cricket in the country. Several England bowlers from the national and county setup have begun their individual training sessions across multiples venues in England. The batsmen and wicket-keepers are set to resume their training in the first week of June.

“It’s great news that the players are now able to begin their cricket training, having been restricted to fitness and conditioning work at home for the past few weeks, as we begin to prepare for defending the Wisden Trophy. We are in the final stages of discussions with the ECB and we expect to hear from them shortly once their bio-secure plans have UK Government and ECB Board support,” Grave added.