London: England bowlers are set to report for training on Thursday, leading the way as cricket chiefs step up plans to start a season heavily delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.
The global health crisis has put matches on hold in England until July 1 at the earliest while in other countries the season is already over. Despite the pandemic, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is still planning to stage a full home international programme, starting with a three-Test series against the West Indies, which was originally scheduled for June.
The ECB has announced that up to 18 bowlers will be involved from Thursday. Edgbaston, Hove, Old Trafford, the Oval, the Riverside, Taunton and Trent Bridge will stage at least one session, before batsmen and wicketkeepers become involved from June 1.
The bowlers’ identities have yet to be made public but the choice of venues indicates that James Anderson (Old Trafford) and Stuart Broad (Trent Bridge) will be among the leading England bowlers training at their home county grounds. Bowlers will have to bring their own kit, including designated cricket balls, wash their hands regularly, and clean any equipment used with disinfectant wipes.
England managing director Ashley Giles said last week he wanted the training sessions to be safer than a trip to a supermarket. As well as the West Indies Test series, England’s cricket schedule includes three Tests against Pakistan and limited-overs matches against Australia and Ireland, with the fixtures set to be played behind closed doors at bio-secure venues.
ECB chief executive Tom Harrison has warned a season without any matches at all could cost the board ?380 million ($465 million).On the other hand, India’s top cricketers like Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane will have to wait longer to resume individual training in the city due to its status of being a COVID-19 red zone, which rules out opening of sports facilities here for the time being.
The Maharashtra government has allowed opening of stadiums for individual training in green and orange zones without spectators. This was after the home ministry offered relaxation in regulations for the fourth phase of the lockdown till May 31.
However, Mumbai and all it’s neighbouring areas like Thane, Navi Mumbai, Mira Bhayandar, Vasai Virar and Kalyan Dombivili have been declared red zones. “We will strictly adhere to the norms of the state government with regard to opening of stadiums and sports facilities,” a senior MCA official told PTI on Wednesday. What this means is that top cricketers, who are residing in the city, like Rohit and Rahane will have to wait further to hit the ground. MCA has three facilities — the Wankhede Stadium, the Bandra Kurla Complex and the Sachin Tendulkar Gymkhana in suburban Kandivili. However, as per the government directives, these will remain closed.
Cricket practice won’t start even at the Braboune Stadium, which is located off the Marine Drive. A senior Cricket Club of India (CCI) official also said that they will wait for the government order on restarting of activities.
“Till then nothing will be resumed,” the official stated. Mumbai has been among the worst hit by the COVID19 pandemic.
On Tuesday, the city’s COVID-19 count rose to 22,563 with an addition of 1,411 new cases. There have been overall 800 deaths in Mumbai due to the virus, according to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation till Tuesday. (Agencies)
