Windies prepare for sledging

Lights, cameras and sledging. No matter what, the West Indies team will be ready for all that the opponents can throw at them on the upcoming One-Day Series Down Under next month. Manager Tony Howard has said that as part of the ongoing three-week camp, the team’s management would be working on getting the lads fully mentally prepared for the challenges. The Windies will face the awesome Australians and the enigmatic Pakistanis in the VB Series tri-nation showdown. “Sledging and how to combat it is one area we have to work on in the camp. If you are concentrating on what you’re doing it’s really difficult to hear someone talking foolishness,” was how Howard addressed the Aussies favourite tactic of taunting opponents.

“It tells me that when a guy does that (sledging) and gets you upset, that he’s really taking you out of your game. The aim is to stay focussed on what we are doing, get on with our business and after the match say: ‘Thanks for a good game’.” In the first interview given by a team official during the camp Howard, himself a former Barbados and West Indies off-spinner, added that this was one area which would be looked at closely during the upcoming days as players and coach Bennett King put in some intense training The issue of playing under lights has also come up during the camp. There is no facility in the Caribbean to host day/night matches and as was seen on the tour of South Africa earlier this year, several players struggled in the evening sessions.

“Lights and playing in the evening will be factors of course,” Howard said. “These are things we will be working on and we will be trying to get the players acclimatised as early as possible. “We also have the mental side of the game in tune as the West Indies will have a day-night warm-up match against Victoria at the massive Melbourne Cricket Ground, along with two day matches against Australia in Hobart, Tasmania, before the tournament bowls off on Friday, January 14. “This (day-nighters) is a standard in world cricket nowadays and we have to be ready for it,” Howard said. “We have to try and get the players ready for all challenges. There is no facility during the camp to use lights but it will be key in discussions.”

The camp has been intense from the get-go and some players have looked stretched with the tough requirements laid down by King. Howard however noted that with a new coach and new management team things would be done somewhat differently to how it was in the past. The schedule runs from early in the morning to late at night. Players have sessions at the hotel before coming to the ground for the morning work-outs which include drills and net session. After lunch they return for more specialised work in the afternoon, followed by one-on-ones at the hotel before dinner.

“Intense is a word we have been using. we have seen a somewhat different approach (at this camp) to what we had. It will take some getting used to but in speaking with the players they seem happy and they’re enjoying the work,” Howard said. Last week there was some rain but this did not disrupt the camp. The players had a classroom setting in the morning where they examined computerised images and later did some new activities including balancing bats with one finger which created some humour. (Barbados Nation)