1-week camp for Windies

The West Indies squad, complete with new manager, coach, psychologist and physiotherapist, are to assemble for a week-long camp prior to the international home season, starting with the first Test against Zimbabwe in Port-of-Spain on March 16.

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has acceded to a request for the arrangement from chairman of selectors Mike Findlay, chief executive Stephen Camacho confirmed yesterday.

Camacho said details were still to be finalised but indicated that the camp would likely be located in Trinidad sometime between between the last day of the Busta Cup final (February 28) and first Test.

Findlay and his panel are anxious to get the team together not only to finetune the players but also to erase the negative memories of the disastrous New Zealand tour that ended in January with defeat in both Tests and all five One-Day Internationals.

It would be an opportunity for the new management team, whose names are expected to be announced next week, and the players to get to know each other prior to a period of more than six months uninterrupted international cricket.

The two Tests against New Zealand, three against Pakistan and a triangular limited-overs series at home between March 16 and May 23 are to be followed by a full tour of England ending September 3, featuring five Tests and another triangular series.

As president Pat Rousseau revealed in a radio interview last week, a four-man committee of the WICB has reviewed applications for the posts of manager and coach and interviewed those it short-listed.

Its recommendations are to go to the full WICB for consideration and ratification.

Rousseau said at the time the WICB would also appoint an assistant coach, a sports psychologist and a qualified physiotherapist to work with the team on a full-time basis. These are expected to be named in time for the camp.

According to the president, the WICB is still hoping to revive its programme of placing key players under contract.

'We did one year of retainer contracts but we weren't very successful,' he said.

'We made some errors in that we didn't have the funding, but the only way we can keep the basic squad together is to put the players on a retainer.

'We're looking at doing that again so that we can keep them together,' he added.