Stuart Broad bowling to Joe Root
England cricket team are slowly gearing up for the impending three-match Test series against West Indies which is slated to start from July 8 onwards in Southampton. And ahead of the opener, pacer Stuart Broad was seen at the training nets with skipper Joe Root.
If Root had any concern pertaining to the fitness and prowess of his pacers, Broad's snorter of a delivery at the nets against him must have calmed his nerves.
Broad shared the video where he was seen beating the outside edge of Root's willow as he captioned it saying, "Great to be back bowling at a @root66 One step closer to getting back together as a Team Trying to build each session to peak in July. That’s the aim."
Earlier in the day, Jason Holder's men had reached England for the Test series.
West Indies Cricket said in a statement Monday that on arrival at Old Trafford in Manchester, the entire touring party will be quarantined and tested again for COVID-19 as they begin the seven-week tour where they will live, train and play in a “bio-secure” environment.
Those protocols will restrict movement in and out of the venues, so a group of reserve players will travel to train and help prepare the test squad and ensure replacements are available in case of injury. There will be no spectators allowed at the three tests which are being played over just 21 days — starting July 8 in Southampton and at Old Trafford from July 16-20 and again from July 24-28.
The venues were chosen because they had hotels attached or nearby and could be turned into bio-secure environments.
The original tour was scheduled for May and June but was postponed due to coronavirus restrictions.
“This is a huge step forward in cricket and in sports in general as we travel over to England for this series," captain Jason Holder said. “A lot has gone into the preparations for what will be a new phase in the game."
(with AP inputs)
