This follows the Caribbean side’s disappointing start to the trip, and injuries to Jerome Taylor and Ramnaresh Sarwan which led to an innings and 65 runs defeat inside three days in the opening Test against Australia at the Gabba.
“It would have been better if we were together for a month in training rather than going to a [domestic] one-day tournament,” said Garner, who is playing the role of executive manager for the trip.
“A Test match is five days, and we’ve been playing too much [limited-overs] cricket leading up to this series, and it showed in the way the fellas batted.”
As a fast bowling legend in the era of West Indies dominance, Garner knows only too well the level of preparation required for success.
He has had to manage the intricacies of Taylor arriving in Australia with a sore left hip and stiff back which precipitated his return to the Caribbean, following his non-appearance in the only warm-up match prior to the opening Test against Queensland, and being limited to nine overs in the five-day match.
Garner has also had to tackle Sarwan falling awkwardly and jarring his back while performing a fielding drill on the eve of the opening Test.
A director of the WICB, he agreed that the team’s schedule did not put the players in the best frame of mind for Tests.
“I think we have to look at the way we prepare our players,” said Garner, who is also the sitting president of the Barbados Cricket Association.
“I don’t think five or six days preparation before you come onto tour is ideal for any kind of cricket.
“We’ve been swamped by a lot of [limited-overs] cricket as opposed to playing the longer version of the game.”
He continued: “I’m one of these people who don’t think we should bring knockout (limited-overs) cricket into our junior cricket at all.
“I think that at Under-15 and Under-19, we should be playing three-day cricket and teaching the players to play proper cricket as opposed to just trying to hit everything out of the park.”
Prior to the trip to Australia, all of the players were part of their respective territorial sides that took part in the WICB President’s Cup limited-overs competition that was badly affected by rain.
It meant the players – most of whom had been sidelined for close to six months following strike action by the players’ association – failed to have a proper hit or run.
