BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – West Indies head coach Ottis Gibson has praised the work ethic of his squad, following another full day of workout in their preparation camp here yesterday.
Hampered somewhat by the passage of Tropical Storm Tomas on Saturday, Gibson said the 15-man squad had stayed focussed and put in a special effort over the last few days.
They are gearing up for the tour of Sri Lanka which runs from November 10 to December 21 and included three Tests, five One-Day Internationals and one Twenty20 International.
“I am very pleased with the work ethic from all the players involved in the camp.
Obviously we have had to change our plans somewhat, but the players have made the adjustment and have continued with their preparations in a professional manner,” Gibson said yesterday.
“We missed a day due to the hurricane, and obviously there is nothing we could have done about that. Since then the boys have move on and we have seen everyone hitting balls, in the nest working on their bowling and doing fielding drills.
“This is great to see and they have been thorough and professional.
So far the camp has been excellent. We also have some members of the West Indies A team here as well as all the players contracted by the WICB (West Indies Cricket Board) so there has been a lot of activity.”
The players assembled here early last week following the conclusion of the WICB One-Day Championship, and were put through fitness testing on Thursday and Friday at the 3Ws Oval at the UWI Cave Hill Campus.
Tomas then negated the scheduled start of full training on Saturday but the players engaged in a full session on Sunday and again on Monday to make up for the loss time.
In addition to the heavy focus on fitness, Gibson said they had also been discussing what was required in order to be successful on the tough tour of the subcontinent.
“I believe the players have received a lot of benefit from what they are doing. We have also been doing a lot of talking about the game and a lot of assessments,” the former Windies fast bowler said.
“The players understand what they have to do and they have a clear understanding of the game. I believe know what is required and we have discussed these areas at the camp as well.
“The team is together and everyone is buying into what we are putting in place and everyone understands the direction we are going.”
The squad is scheduled to leave in two groups on Thursday and Friday respectively.
