Self-isolating ... I’m used to it! PLUNKETT NOT FAZED BY TIME AT HOME ALONE

LIAM PLUNKETT reckons a generation of Twenty20 cricketers already have self-isolation down to a fine art.

The World Cup winner, who took 11 wickets for Eoin Morgan’s side during last year’s tournament, has spent a vast amount of time playing in T20 tournaments around the world.

And he believes that experience has prepared him for one of the strangest and most worrying times the country has ever experienced.

Currently isolating in Yorkshire, Plunkett is keeping fit with a daily ride or run in an idyllic area of the country, coupled with an indoor training session every evening.

And it is all being done while studying to be a personal trainer.

In far from ideal circumstances, he is putting his experiences while cricketing to good use.

“As much as you want to play, cricket is the last thing on your mind at the moment,” he said. “First, you want to know your family is OK.

“I think people have taken a lot of things for granted and this has really just shown how fragile everything can be.

“As a cricketer, though, isolation is nothing new.

“Obviously, this is very different for a lot of people, but, when you’re playing in Twenty20 tournaments around the world, you do spend a lot of time alone in your hotel room.

“You have a lot of time to fill because, outside training and playing, you’re on your own an awful lot. You have to develop some kind of routine. I’m trying to map it out every day.

“I’ll train in the morning, study for two hours, read for an hour and then train in the evening.

“It is what it is. You can’t do anything about it and everyone is in the same boat. You just want people to be smart and not do stupid stuff like going out or being in groups.

“If that happens, then the quicker we can get life back to normal.”

Plunkett was a key member of England’s one-day side and played a critical role in helping turn the country from World Cup also-rans in 2015 to champions four years later.

He also took 3-42, including the crucial wickets of Jimmy Neesham and Kane Williamson, as England triumphed over the Kiwis at Lord’s.

The drama of that thrilling Super Over win now seems distant – particularly for a player who currently finds himself on the periphery of England’s plans.

“It does seem a long time ago,” he said. “Who knew that something like this was going to happen?

“Like the Ashes in 2005, you wanted cricket to thrive off the back of that win in the World Cup. Now, everything has come to a halt. I’ve said before that I’m disappointed not to be part of England’s plans now.

“But it seems so insignificant talking about that now. I want England to move in the right direction.

“I think it was dealt with badly, but you move on. It’s finished for me now.

“And something like this puts everything in a very

different perspective.”

OLLIE POPE is the blazing young talent of English cricket whose first inspiration was the sight of an Olympic gold medal. The Surrey batsman scored a brilliant maiden Test century in the winter series victory against South Africa. But he was denied the chance to build on that when the recent tour of Sri Lanka was abandoned due to the coronavirus crisis. However, he has had time to reflect on his progress and to pay tribute to two mentors who have helped him along the way. The first was Steve Batchelor, one of the 1988 GB hockey side that memorably captured a gold medal at the Seoul Olympics. He was Pope’s hockey coach at school and the father of the player’s girlfriend at the time. “I spent a fair bit of time with him back in those schooldays,” said 22-year-old Pope (right). “He talked about what it was like when he won that gold medal. He showed it to me and, of Plunkett says World Cup seems a long way off now course, that’s an inspiration to a youngster.” The second mentor for Pope is his boss at Surrey, their director of cricket Alec Stewart. “He’s a massive influence,” said Pope. “Before the trip to New Zealand, we just chatted about how to deal with everything. “He gave me the confidence to succeed with some of the things he said. He really trusts my ability, which I take as a massive compliment.”