Fitness still a work in progress for Paul, Hemraj and Smith, says Coach Simmons

By Brandon Corlette

West Indies Head Coach Phil Simmons has noted that fitness is still a work in progress for players that are currently in Antigua for the West Indies white-ball camp.

When asked about players such as Chandrapaul Hemraj, Nial Smith and Keemo Paul, who had fitness issues in the past, Simmons noted that the current camp in Antigua focuses more on skills than on fitness, but the fitness of these players is still a work in progress.
“Fitness-wise, I think it is a work in progress for them. I think they still have to work on that when they go back (to Guyana). This (camp) is not about fitness as such, this was about the skills we needed to try and work on; so when it comes to their fitness, I think they still have a lot to do when they get back to Guyana,” Simmons said in a virtual interaction with the media.

Sharing his assessment of Guyanese fast-bowler Nial Smith, Simmons said: “Nial Smith has the ability, he has pace. Someone mentioned earlier that he has challenges in getting to the fitness mark, and it is something he has to work on exceptionally hard. He has the talent and ability as a fast-bowler, and we have to try to keep pushing him to do the right things to where he can get to.”
The white-ball camp, which commenced on March 31, is expected to conclude on April 13. This camp is being held at the Coolidge Cricket Ground, the new home of Cricket West Indies in Antigua. It will also help preparation for West Indies’ 2022 schedule, with home and away tours all featuring white-ball cricket. In late May, West Indies travel to the Netherlands for the first ever three-match One Day International series between the two teams, to be followed by the rescheduled three-match ODI Series against Pakistan, which was postponed in December.

These fixtures form part of the ICC ODI Super League, wherein teams would have opportunity to secure points to try and secure one of the top seven places, excluding hosts India, to gain automatic qualification for the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.
According to Cricket West Indies (CWI), the men in maroon will then be hosting tours by Bangladesh, India and New Zealand, with all three series featuring white-ball matches.

LIST OF PLAYERS AT THE CAMP:
Nkrumah Bonner, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Keacy Carty, Roston Chase, Justin Greaves, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Shai Hope, Brandon King, Kjorn Ottley, Keemo Paul, Anderson Phillip, Raymon Reifer, Nial Smith, Devon Thomas and Nyeem Young.