Players happy for break (11 August 1999)

11 August 1999

Players happy for break

Philip Hackett

Domestic cricket will return to the local fields in full this weekend after a break at the top as Barbados hosted the NorTel Networks West Indies Under-19 tournament.

By the time the Intermediate Premier League and Division 1 players resume on Saturday they would have been out of action for a month while the teams in the lower divisions would have had a much shorter break.

Midweek Sport checks revealed that with Crop-Over celebrations also in the air many of the players took the opportunity for a refreshing break from the game to take in some of the festivities.

Most of the club representatives interviewed had no difficulty with the BCA's decision to put the Division 1 and Premier League on hold since they saw no other realistic alternative.

Cable & Wireless BET manager Livy Coppin was, however, concerned that the break could have an adverse effect on his players.

"We will have to refocus. It was a very long break," Coppin said.

"Just before the break, we were trying to get ourselves into a position to challenge for the cup."

Coppin said that the players had been back at practice and generally getting into shape to resume the competition.

Wanderers captain Hendy Bryan, a Barbados and West Indies player, admitted that he had not played since the third round but he has been working on his physical training activities.

Empire captain Michael Inniss, a former Barbados opening batsman, feared the break may cause his team to lose the momentum they had started to build.

Inniss revealed that his club did nothing related to cricket during the break but said it would have been a good idea to have had a few practice games.

He noted that there was some difficulty in organising these since the players were keen to participate in Crop-Over festivities and also watch the NorTel tournament.

In his opinion, the absence of the domestic cricket for a few weeks should not adversely affect the standard or the development of local cricket.

According to Inniss, the more significant issue was the absence of cricket at the village level similar to when cricket was played in the streets.

Roger Blades, who represented Bermuda in the Red Stripe Bowl, said that his club, St. Catherine, resumed training a few weeks ago after earlier attempts had been affected by rain. He felt the break was probably a good thing since the cricket season was quite long and included Sunday play.

"I think there is too much cricket involving Sundays. Such a demand on time takes its toll on people with families who are still trying to be involved in the game," Blades said.

The St. Catherine captain said that since the Premier Zone was not producing as had been expected, all the Intermediate teams should play on the same level.

One strategy which he advocated as means of developing youngsters was to include a Youth XI in the Fire Cup competition since limited overs cricket was now a part of NorTel and cricket generally.

"They do have the option of playing for clubs in the Fire Cup, but some of them may not make a team," Blades said.

Banks captain Mark Estwick was another one worried about the possible loss of momentum but had no complaints to make. Banks only resumed practice sessions last week.

"I am hoping it does not affect the team too much," Estwick said.

He was more concerned about the fact that they would be without Winston Reid for the next two matches while the left-arm spinner and Busta Cup MVP participates in the County tournament in Jamaica.

Former Spartan Division 1 captain Jeffrey Mascoll, who now plays in the Premier Zone, expressed concerned that his spinners could be a bit rusty after the lay off but for a team with an average age of over 40, the break may not have been a bad thing and was not a major concern.

"I don't think the break will have an adverse effect on our chances of winning. We have not been batting. That is our main problem," said Mascoll.

Source :: The Barbados Nation