JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, CMC – A travel-weary West Indies arrived here yesterday after a long flight from the Caribbean, to continue their preparation for the ICC Champions Trophy later this month.
The second string side, led by veteran Barbados batsman Floyd Reifer, touched down here around 6 am following a short layover in London. They are scheduled to undergo a training camp starting on Tuesday, in the build up to the September 22 to October 5 tournament.
After arriving in Johannesburg, the squad took a near two-hour drive to Potchefstroom, where they will be based until the training camp ends next Wednesday.
Following the camp, West Indies will play two warm-up matches against hosts South Africa and Sri Lanka.
They will open their Group A campaign in the Champions Trophy against Pakistan on September 23 before meeting defending champions Australia on September 26. They will finish against India four days later.
The squad, which left the Caribbean on Saturday evening, is missing its leading players due to the contracts impasse between the West Indies Cricket Board and the West Indies Players Association.
