Captain Jason Holder and top-order batsman Shai Hope were among the seven West Indian Test cricketers to return to training behind closed doots at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Monday, Cricbuzz reported.
Kraigg Brathwaite, Kemar Roach, Shane Dowrich, Shamarh Brooks and Raymon Reifer were the others who stepped onto the field. The report stated that the players practiced in small groups with strict guidelines from Cricket West Indies’s medical committee and approval from the local government.
The training comes after the potential tour to England looks likely later this summer. England and West Indies are scheduled to play a three-match Test series in July after tour schedules were revised.
The England and Wales Cricket Board is still planning to stage a full home international programme, starting with the West Indies series, which was originally scheduled for June. Last week, England players Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes, Ben Stokes returned to individual training since all forms of competitive cricket was suspended in March in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
“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 Johnny Grave, CEO of Cricket West Indies, was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
“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.
“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.”
As well as the West Indies Test series, England’s cricket schedule includes three Tests against Pakistan and limited-overs matches against Australia and Ireland, with the fixtures set to be played behind closed doors at bio-secure venues.