Scorpions start training for Regional Four-Day
Published:Saturday | October 17, 2020 | 12:14 AMRobert Bailey/Gleaner Writer
With Cricket West Indies’ (CWI) recent announcement that the Professional Cricket League Regional Four-Day Competition could start in February because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Jamaica Scorpions squad is now back training, preparing for that date.
Jamaica Cricket Association Chief Executive Officer Courtney Francis says the Scorpions squad began training on Wednesday at Sabina Park.
“They have to train because they are professionals, so it is only right for them to keep healthy and to keep fit,” Francis said. “It is also a part of their mental preparedness. Because of the COVID-19 restrictions, everybody is stressed out.
“Their livelihood depends on it, and they have family members who are depending on them. We have talked to the players that when February comes around, our players will be fit and in order to play.
“They are training Monday through to Thursday, but it is not everybody every day because the numbers are minimal, so most of it is one-on-one training, and we will be going right through to December.”
Francis said that Scorpions’ players and management have been adhering to the protocols that have been established by the Ministry of Health and Wellness at every training session.
“They are not feeling any way about training in this COVID-19 pandemic because they know what is required of them if they are going to be successful,” Francis said.
“I think that any tournament that [CWI] comes up with now, I know that they will be ready for it.”
Right arm off-spinner Akim Fraser said he was comfortable with his training environment.
“I feel pretty safe in the environment now with the protocols that have been put in place because it is a bit different from what we are used to,” Fraser said. “We have been split up into groups, and in the groups, we are pretty much socially distant for the whole time because we don’t really interact much with each other.”
Fraser has taken 24 wickets in five Regional Four-day matches for the Scorpions.