West Indies resume training amid coronavirus pandemic
Ahead of the upcoming England tour, the West Indian contingent have returned to training. The likes of Kraigg Brathwaite, Shai Hope, Kemar Roach, Shane Dowrich, Shamarh Brooks and Raymon Reifer trained at the Kensington Oval behind closed doors. Meanwhile, Cricket West Indies (CWI) is expected to give a green signal to players for England tour, later this week. Here is more.
"The initiative to get back to training has been given local Government approval, with strict protocols of social distancing, observing the guidelines as set out by the authorities and CWI's Medical Advisory Committee and was conducted behind closed doors," a media release said.
The West Indies cricket board is having a constant dialogue with ECB for conducting the Test series in bio-secure environment. Cricket West Indies CEO Johnny Grave is hopeful of going ahead with the plans. "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 Grave.
Previously, West Indies captain Jason Holder stated he will not force the Caribbean players to travel for England tour. Meanwhile, ECB director Ashley Giles confirmed a risk assessment will be done ahead of the series. The cricket board is also expected to give a plan for hosting West Indies under bio-secure environment. Notably, a pool of England bowlers have already resumed individual training.
Although West Indies were scheduled to tour England for a three-Test series in June, the series was postponed due to coronavirus outburst. With English cricket season already suspended until July, the new dates may be announced this month.
Johnny Grave asserted the discussions with ECB are nearing the final stage. "We would need to have their approval in order to get the logistics in place and select the players," he said. "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."
