West Indies cricket team arrives in England

LONDON: West Indies captain Jason Holder said international cricket will take a huge step forward following the coronavirus shutdown as his team arrived on Tuesday for a Test series in England.

Fans who have had to make do with months of television repeats can now look forward to the real thing again, with England captain Joe Root saying of the West Indies’ decision to tour: “It must be extremely scary and I think the whole cricketing world will be grateful to see some cricket again.” The three-match contest was originally meant to be played in June but will now start on July 8 instead because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is a huge step forward in cricket and in sports in general as we travel over to England for this series,” said Holder. “A lot has gone into the preparations for what will be a new phase in the game.” But rather than matches before crowds at The Oval, Edgbaston and Lord’s, a now back-to-back series will take place behind closed doors at the more ‘bio-secure’ Ageas Bowl and Old Trafford.

Whereas players usually spend evenings during a Test away from the ground, they will now instead find themselves in a protective bubble at two venues which both have onsite hotels. Southampton’s Ageas Bowl will stage the series opener from July 8, with the next two Tests at Old Trafford.

All the West Indies players have tested negative for the virus, although they will be retested when they arrive in Manchester. Health measures, including a ban on applying saliva to the ball set to be rubber-stamped at an International Cricket Council meeting on Wednesday, will be in place.

One of cricket’s poorest major teams in the West Indies is now helping one of its wealthiest, despite the Caribbean outfit’s cricket board having to impose a 50-percent pay cut on all players and staff. The West Indies, who hold the Wisden Trophy after beating England at home last year, have selected a 25-strong squad. They will complete a 14-day quarantine period combined with initial training at Old Trafford before heading south from Manchester for the first Test.

Despite the ECB’s efforts, three West Indies players -- Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer and Keemo Paul -- declined to tour, with Cricket West Indies insisting it will not hold this against them when it comes to future selection. Bravo and Hetmyer’s absence deprives the tourists of two top-order batsman, with Paul less of a loss given he is a back-up for Holder, the world’s top-ranked allrounder.

Former interim head coach Floyd Reifer will fill in as batting coach for Monty Desai, who is based in India and cannot join the tour due to travel restrictions. But it could be Root who is the most significant absentee from the first Test.