Kicking around

IT'S 5:15 in the morning.

It's still dark.

There is a slight chill in the atmosphere.

Some of us are still in bed sound asleep.

During the past week, however, Barbados' cricketers, now preparing for the Carib Beer Series, would just be assembling before sunrise for the start of their daily training.

It starts with a run-around, either at their camp site at the Barbados Defence Force's Paragon base or at the nearby Long Beach.

At 6:30 a.m., it's time for breakfast.

By 8:30 a.m., they are out and about again. It's time for a three-hour practice in which they engage in more physical training, fielding drills and net sessions.

After lunch, it is time for indoor activity. It can come in the form of a lecture from either the legendary Sir Everton Weekes, fellow former West Indies batsman Seymour Nurse, former Barbados leg-spinner George Linton or others like nutritionist Karen Griffith.

In the evening, it's back to the middle for another practice session.

It has been intense. It is serious business.

It all takes place away from the hassle of a Queen's Park or Weymouth. It is within the confines of a strict, military base - surroundings that are bound to generate some level of discipline.

"The environment caters for discipline and teamwork. That is one of the reasons why the guys came up here," said team coach Hendy Springer.

Such characteristics are prerequisites for success on the cricket field.

"My definition of discipline is that you do the right things unsupervised," Springer said.

"Sometimes we say a guy is a disciplined person and he may be doing something under supervision, but when that supervision goes away, he goes back to his old, bad habits.

"We've got some senior guys here trying to pull the younger guys through, to lead by example and to show them `I'm not going to be breathing down your neck all the time. We expect you to do the right thing on your own."'

A visit to the camp yesterday showed some innovative approaches towards preparation - football games with close bars, catching practice with a tennis ball and racquet, the marking of two lines down the entire length of the pitch, recording details of each ball delivered at practice.

Catching practice with a tennis ball might seem off-base to the average fan, but since the ball comes of the racquet at high speeds, it helps with sharpening reflexes.

Football is mainly for warm-up purposes, but it builds a sense of teamwork and co-operation among players.

Someone who might be inclined to dribble and hold on to the ball too long is encouraged to pass the ball to a teammate.

It is also about trying to build team spirit.

"Team spirit is very good. Everybody is involved," Springer said. "Everybody has got his opinion. It is not necessarily carried out or adhered to, but they are given a hearing.

"Everybody has a chance to speak their minds, depending on what the situation is. We need to know more about one another.

"I've found in the past that Barbados cricketers only knew one another when they came together as a Barbados cricket team."

On the technical side, plenty of attention is being paid to detail.

Charts have been designed and records have been made on things such as the number of no-balls each bowler has sent down and how many deliveries are off-line.

The two lines drawn down the length of the pitch in line with off and leg stumps have added a new dimension to sessions.

"Usually, in the net setting, when the bowlers hit the batsman on the pad, there is always a big shout for lbw," Springer said.

"It has shown some of these bowlers that many balls they bowl are not really pitched on the stumps.

"The lines are supposed to help both batsmen and bowlers. It has given a good guideline to the bowlers. They know where they are starting and where they are finishing."

With just a week ahead of Barbados' opening match against the Windward Islands in St Vincent, Courtney Browne's men are hoping to be ready to regain the title they held two seasons ago.

"To be match-ready means ready physically, mentally, tactically," Springer said.

"I don't think at this point in time we have covered all those areas as yet. We are doing as much as we can to get there by the time the first bell rings."