Buttler admits anxiety over playing again
JOS Buttler admits returning to cricket has left him with a pang of anxiety.
The England and Wales Cricket Board has accepted any hope of holding an international calendar from July 1 rests on fixtures taking place behind closed doors and in a ‘biosecure’ bubble to contain the risk of coronavirus.
England players will return to individual training from next week with a reassurance that safety protocols should make the sessions less risky than a trip to the supermarket.
The ECB has designed a programme for around 30 male players to work on personalised regimes alongside one coach and one physio at a time, with up to 11 first-class grounds being utilised.
Bowlers will be the first into action and are expected to begin work on Wednesday, some with an additional strength and conditioning specialist present, with batsmen following. Players and staff will observe socialdistancing advice and take temperature tests on arrival, while any injury treatment will only be undertaken with full personal protective equipment in use by the physio.
The measures are the next step towards the governing body’s hopes of hosting international matches in July, though that ambition is contingent on a number of other factors.
Buttler hailed the communication from ECB director of cricket Ashley Giles and chief medical officer Dr Nick Peirce about the procedures surrounding their return, but he believes some trepidation is only natural.
He said: “Reading in the paper training could be starting again for England players, I had some natural apprehension and anxiety about that. I don’t really necessarily know why.
“I think probably it was natural performance anxiety you haven’t felt for a while.
“No one has ever been in this situation before as players and management. The people who are trying to come up with the plans have got a very tough job.
“It’s been the words of the past seven weeks – ‘unprecedented situation’ – so I think your apprehension about the cricket, the performance, is just a natural one.”