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CHRISTCHURCH: The West Indies cricket team enthusiastically shook off a long flight, jet lag, three days of isolation and having to undergo coronavirus (Covid-19) tests as they had their first day of training on Tuesday before his tour of New Zealand.
Most of the team and management arrived in New Zealand last Friday after a 54-hour flight from Barbados and have been in a biosecurity facility in Christchurch.
They had to spend the first three days in isolation and then return a negative Covid-19 test before they could begin training at New Zealand Cricket’s (NZC) high performance center.
“After flying for so long, jet lag, and then three days of isolation, it’s tough,” said bowler Kesrick Williams after his first day of training. “We could feel the effects of the three days and the jet lag … but we know we have to get used to it and prepare to go out.”
While the Twenty20 world champions were itching to stretch their legs, a cold wind dropped the temperature dramatically in Christchurch and many team members were forced to don warm clothing and hats.
“The first thing I learned is that the weather is bad,” Williams said of his memories of the New Zealand tour. “[But] it is an amazing feeling to wear garnet. The passion, the pride that accompanies it. ”
Six members of the Twenty20 team continue to play in the Indian Premier League in the United Arab Emirates and are not expected to arrive in New Zealand until the end of next week.
Coach Phil Simmons has said they are likely to be isolated until the morning of the first Twenty20 International in Auckland on November 27.
NZC said earlier on Tuesday that the West Indies team will undergo two additional tests for Covid-19 on day six and day 12 before they can be released from their mandatory 14-day isolation.
They play three Twenty20 matches against New Zealand before the two-round series begins on December 3 in Hamilton.
Posted in Dawn, November 4, 2020
