England Bowlers To Resume Individual Training This Week As ECB Plans Its Return After The COVID-19 Crisis
Updated - 20 May 2020, 07:07 PM
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), on Wednesday, announced that up to 18 English bowlers would return to individualised training from Thursday [May 21] across seven venues. The original plan to resume training was scheduled earlier this week but ensuring government safety guidelines led to its postponement.
The ECB has stated that those chosen to begin training do not form part of a formal England squad. Instead, it is a group of players who have been invited to resume training to prepare for a possible return to international action against West Indies in early July.
The England board has been keen on resuming cricket after the wrath of the coronavirus pandemic globally and is working at a rapid speed to bring the sport back to normalcy.
England Bowlers To Resume Training From This Week
A number of measures will be in place to ensure the safety of those involved. Temperature testing will take place before each session and players turn up at the sessions in their kit ready to train with their own batch of cricket balls. Two-metre social distancing will be in place between the players and support staff at all times.
Bowlers will bowl into an empty net and pick up their own dedicated cricket ball. When they bowl into a catching mitt during centre wicket practice, the coach will wear their own mitt and a disposable glove, on the other hand, to throw the ball back with.
The bowlers will not be able to use sweat or saliva on the ball, and each individual involved in the sessions will be required to wash their hands regularly and clean their equipment with disinfectant wipes. This includes mobile phones and any kit the coaches may use.
Major Cricketing Events Come To A Hold After Coronavirus Outbreak
The sporting spectrum has also faced a lot due to the outbreak of the pandemic. So far, significant cricketing action all across the globe has come to a standstill. India has also suffered a massive loss due to the rapid spread of the deadly virus, and the entire country has come to a grinding halt. India was in a 21-day national lockdown from March 25, and now the nation-wide lockdown has been extended until May 17.
Recently, the IPL 2020 was suspended indefinitely due to the coronavirus outbreak. To the disappointment of the cricket fans, the India-South Africa ODI series has also been called off. Apart from it, the Road Safety World Series has also been suspended.
The England board had decided to postpone the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka due to the coronavirus pandemic. The series was to be a part of the World Test Championship (WTC). All the England players playing in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) were called back immediately, and the tournament has been postponed.
