England bowlers will be having one-on-one sessions with coaches from Wednesday and the batsmen will enter the nets two weeks later.
England's Dominic Bess (3rdR) celebrates with teammates after the dismissal of South Africa's Anrich Nortje during the fifth day of the third Test cricket match between South Africa and England at the St George's Park Cricket Ground in Port Elizabeth on January 20, 2020. (Photo by Richard Huggard / AFP)
After the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced that the male cricketers of the national team would resume individual outdoor skill-based training from next week, it has been revealed that the cricketers would use their own set of balls and marked water bottles to not share them with anyone.
England’s cricketers will be handed a box of balls each only for their individual use and they can’t apply saliva on them when they resume training next week ahead of the scheduled Test series against West Indies and Pakistan.
The ECB on Thursday had announced that a pool of 30 cricketers would begin training in different phases at venues across the country to make sure they are able to maintain the social distancing measures as set by the United Kingdom Government’s elite sport return to training guidance.
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In the first phase it would be the bowlers – who will have one-on-one session with the coach – and after they reach their desired loading efforts in two weeks, dedicated batsmen and wicketkeepers will begin their individual training sessions. The cricketers are all set to be back on the field after a gap of two months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A “one skin per ball” policy will be implemented for the sessions at 11 county grounds where players will train at different times to ensure social distancing, reported English outlet The Guardian.
“Players have been told to travel by car, bring their own clearly marked water bottles, regularly sanitise hands and make a swift departure afterwards before showering at home,” the newspaper stated.
They will also undergo temperature checks before hitting the nets under the supervision of a coach and physio.
A two-metre distance has to be maintained with the coach and the physio will be the only one wearing a PPE kit.
When the batsmen resume net sessions, they must not pick the ball up and pass it back to the coach, instead they will kick it or use the bat to hit it back.
With PTI inputs
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