England has seconded three coaches from county cricket to help a 30-strong test squad prepare for next month’s three-match series against the West Indies.
Glen Chapple, Richard Dawson and Matthew Walker, who are head coaches at Lancashire, Gloucestershire and Kent respectively, will join what England is describing as a “behind-closed-doors training group” at Southampton’s Ageas Bowl from Tuesday.
The players and coaches will live, prepare and train on-site in a bio-secure environment at the ground and its adjoining hotel until the first test on July 8, with regular COVID-19 checks taking place amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Head groundsman Craig Harvey tends to the outfield at the County Ground, home of Northamptonshire County Cricket Club, in Northampton, England, Wednesday May 27, 2020. Professional cricket teams are waiting to be given the green light to return to competitive sport as the country comes out of lockdown due to the highly contagious coronavirus pandemic. (Joe Giddens PA via AP)
There will be a three-day practice match starting July 1, after which the squad for the first test will be announced. The second and third tests will be staged at Manchester’s Old Trafford, where the West Indies touring party is based.
Included in the enlarged training was Moeen Ali, who hasn’t played test cricket since being dropped for the second Ashes test in August last year, and eight uncapped players. Three of them have appeared in limited-overs internationals — Saqib Mahmood, Lewis Gregory and Matt Parkinson.
England said assistant coach Paul Collingwood will take charge of the one-day team later this summer, when it is hoped Ireland will tour in a three-match series. England was also scheduled to play Pakistan and Australia in ODIs but no fixtures have been confirmed.
Chapple and Dawson have recently helped out as coaches for England’s second-string Lions squad.
“It’s nice for them and the players to build on effective coaching relationships and it’s also a real positive for our domestic game that we can expose a greater number of our coaches to international cricket,” said ECB performance director Mo Bobat, who added the support from England’s county teams has been “excellent” since a 55-man group was asked to gather for training last month.
The county season will not start before Aug. 1 because of coronavirus restrictions,
England squad:
Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonathan Bairstow, Dominic Bess, James Bracey, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Ben Foakes, Lewis Gregory, Keaton Jennings, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Jamie Overton, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Amar Virdi, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
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