Windball cricket closes Warriors camp

TRINIDAD and Tobago footballers completed the first leg of their European training camp in preparation for the World Cup Finals on a light note yesterday as members of the 24-man squad played a two-hour match of windball cricket in the carpark of the De Vere Carden Park in Manchester, England.

Incidentally their English counterparts have grabbed much of the headlines in the newspapers here posing with their wives and girlfriends at the start of their World Cup build-up on a resort in Portugal.

But the Soca Warriors finished a week of training in good shape and that was evident as they tried their hands with the bats after their on-the-pitch workouts.

Manzanilla-born Collin Samuel and Point Fortin’s Avery John rushed in with some quick deliveries and Shaka Hislop, Marvin Andrews, Stern John, Brent Sancho and Clayton Ince used excellent technique playing on their front foot trying not to lift the tempting short balls out of the car park for the sake of keeping their wickets.

Cornell Glen was also among those who kept wicket behind the improvised stumps.

Glen was in an upbeat mood as his recovery from a hamstring injury has been responding well to treatment from team physiotherapists Oba Gulston and Zeph Nicholas.

Glen’s positive response to the rehab was good news for coach Leo Beenhakker who expects no more fitness problems as the team begins their camp in Austria which runs until June 2.

“It feels better and the training has been useful for all of us. Even though I haven’t been able to go into full training I think my part has also come off well and I hope I can be back for the real training before the three weeks,” Glen said yesterday.

Meanwhile, CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh midfielder Aurtis Whitley who has been linked to Portsmouth in the English Press this week also made Sky Sports news after he was rated by coach Terry Fenwick.

“He’s the jewel of the Caribbean really,’’ Fenwick told Sky Sports News.

“In my career I played with absolute superstars — Bryan Robson, Glenn Hoddle, Gazza — who were fantastic, but this guy has got every bit of skill they ever had. This guy does things with the ball I can’t believe, if he was to turn it on we would get a zillion phone calls the next week from Europe, with clubs wanting to sign him,” added the former England international.