Windies spirits high, says Simmons.
HEAD COACH Phil Simmons says West Indies have shown great character over the first week of their quarantine since arriving here for next month’s three-Test series against England. The 25-man contingent, comprising a 14-member Test squad and 11 reserves, has been locked away at Old Trafford since touching down last Tuesday, while also undergoing intense training amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Under the protocols adopted for the seven-week tour, the tourists will be isolated from the public in what have been termed “biosecure” facilities at Old Trafford and the Ageas Bowl in Southampton. “Training has been going good, it’s been going very good,” Simmons told the media via Zoom. “The facilities at Old Trafford are second to none, so we’ve been enjoying that. To be honest, the biosecure [environment] is a little bit similar to what we would’ve done for our training camp, so we’ve not had to do much different to that.”
LOCKDOWN
He continued: “I think we’ve been good from the point of view that we have everything here, so far. The lockdown, as you would call it, has been eased because we all have been locked down for a number of months whichever part of the world you were in. “Now, part of the lockdown is coming out to practise in the morning and having lunch, and practise in the afternoon and having dinner, playing some games with some of your colleagues. So I think this part of the lockdown is better than what we’ve had in March, April. “But it’s early days and it’s been very educational because you have some characters here, including the captain, who keeps everything lively.” The United Kingdom (UK) has been particularly hard hit by the pandemic, with authorities here recording 296,000 infections and over 41,000 deaths. Unsurprisingly, the public health crisis forced the England and Wales Cricket Board to postpone the series from last month, and, following negotiations with Cricket West Indies, settled on new dates in July.
TEST SCHEDULE
The first Test will be played at the Ageas Bowl from July 8-12, with the second Test scheduled for Old Trafford from July 16-20, and the final Test set for the same venue here, starting July 24. Simmons, who resides in England and linked up with the
‘Now, part of the lockdown is coming out to practise in the morning and having lunch, and practise in the afternoon and having dinner, playing some games with some of your colleagues. So I think this part of the lockdown is better than what we’ve had in March, April. ‘
squad upon arrival, said team spirit was high and players were making the most of in-house entertainment. “There’s always dominoes and, if you’ve ever been to the Caribbean, it’s a highly explosive form of entertainment, especially when you’re getting six-loved, so that’s been part [of the entertainment],” the former West Indies player explained. “We have a golf simulation centre, we have cards, we have a few things that guys are playing and enjoying themselves, and like I say, when you have characters like Jason Holder, everyone’s always laughing and having fun.”