“TRAINING was intense and yet good for us as cricketers.” These were the words of Guyana and West Indies A team fast bowler 21-year-old Brandon Bess after the national training squad completed another fitness session at the world famous Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) ground on Tuesday.

National right-arm leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo watches as trainer Linden Wilson (crouching with hand on knees), takes some members of the squad through a back-stretching exercise at the Georgetown Cricket Club ground Tuesday afternoon. (A Calvin Roberts photo)

“The different drills we have been put through are not strange to me, as I have been working on my fitness both before and during the recently held four-day Inter-county tournament, so I am not feeling the strain so much as some of the guys.

Referring to the various calisthenics they were put under by physical trainer Linden Wilson, Bess opined, “This will help us improve our fitness level so we can be better prepared for the upcoming West Indies four-day competition and we are eagerly looking forward to the rest of days ahead, as everybody has a personal goal they wish to achieve.”

The national squad minus the four players who are in Australia with the West Indies team, began their encampment and preparations for next year’s West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) four-day competition on Tuesday under the watchful eyes of Cricket Development Officer of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Reon King, who received assistance from Wilson, Guyana and West Indies Blind coach Bharat Mangru, Assistant Cricket Development Officer Robin Singh and national coach Ravindranauth Seeram.

In an invited comment, Wilson told Chronicle Sport that the players still have room for improvement, while signalling out a few of them for special mention.

“I think most of the players are about 55 to 60 per cent fit at the moment, while some of them such as Bess, Bishoo, Permaul, Ferrier and Benn are about 75% and with the period of encampment, while all of them may not be at the same level, they certainly would not be the same way they entered,” said Wilson.

Like so many before him, Wilson called on the players to work on their fitness in the off-season, instead of waiting on opportunities like these to have the trainers take them through his or her paces.

“Players need not to wait on coaches to take them through these sessions, as they should be doing it on their own, hence making it easier for the trainers. Apart from that, they should be reading a lot on the sport they are involved in, so that they can become acquainted with the various training techniques and drills.”

While lamenting the fact that previous encampments focused more on cricket training, Seeram complimented both King who coordinated the sessions and Wilson for the excellent job they have been doing with regard to the physical aspect of things, stating that it has made a great impact on the players.