ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Test captain Denesh Ramdin believes the ongoing camp in preparation for the England series will be a huge benefit for the fringe players involved in the set up.
Four uncapped players – Carlos Brathwaite, fellow fast bowler Miguel Cummins, wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich and batsman Shai Hope – were among 20 players invited to the training camp. Ramdin said even if they were not selected in the final Test squad, the knowledge picked up during the camp would prove invaluable.
“There’s a new coach Phil Simmons and he’s been telling us to enjoy it, whatever we’re doing, so so far we’ve been doing good work,” Ramdin said.
“Young Shai Hope and young Dowridge have been fitting in quite nicely, learning and asking a lot of questions which is good from the youngsters.
“They’ve come with that energy and that enthusiasm to learn, always giving 100 per cent so far and that is good. They are a young bunch of guys and very enjoyable so far.
“If they can learn from this, even if not selected, they can go back to their territorial boards having improved as players and do well for their country.”
The players launched their preparation for the England series last weekend, under the watchful eye of new coach Simmons whose appointment was recently announced.
They have undergone work in every facet of the game, culminating in a two-day practice match which bowled off at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground on Wednesday.
Ramdin said he expected the week-long camp to get the group up to full readiness for the first Test which starts here Monday.
“The last two days have been good. The preparation has been a lot of bowling, batting, fielding and trying to get all the departments of our game up to scratch,” the Trinidadian pointed out.
“Some of the guys have been playing first class cricket, some of us came back from the World Cup and had a couple days off and now we’re back into it.”