FITNESS FIRST – Jamaica Observer

NEW head coach of the Jamaica Scorpions Robert Haynes says players will need to improve their fitness level in order to change the fortunes of the team regionally.

The Scorpions have struggled to make an impact over the last two years, finishing in the bottom two of the Super 50 Cup and the four-day championship. It led to Haynes’ return to the national set-up last week, replacing Andrew Richardson.

The issue of fitness has been plaguing a number of Caribbean teams, but with Jamaica’s lack of success in recent times Haynes says greater efforts will be made to ensure players meet the necessary standards.

“In the early days we used to just turn up and play cricket for the love of cricket but now with climate change, for one, it’s very hot so the fitness is crucial — because in terms of stamina and endurance [necessary to] compete in a 50-over game or a four-day game, it needs to be there,” he said.

“The players must understand that in terms of world sports, everybody has to do what they need to do to get to the top — and part of that is fitness. They have to work hard, they have to come prepared.”

Jamaica Cricket Association President Dr Donovan Bennett, though, says players won’t necessarily be sidelined from selection due to their standard of physical conditioning.

“There’s this thing about talent and fitness. Being at the CWI level in years gone by, fitness was a huge thing, and if you didn’t maintain a certain level of fitness then you couldn’t be selected for the team. But, all of that has been thrown out,” said Bennett.

“In my estimation it’s better to have a very talented player who is not very fit than to have a very fit player who has no talent at all. That’s what was happening. We now have a system where the two tests we do per year is not an exclusionary test; it’s a diagnostic test which will point us to the areas that a player is deficient in. We then can pass it on to the coaches to say : ‘This player is good here but is deficient here, so work on this deficiency,’ ” he added.

Haynes also says he doesn’t intend to overwork players, which would set back the progress of the team.

“As coaches we must find a way to strike a balance in how we treat these players, because [if] you have seven first class games I know that Jamaica has enough quality fast bowlers to not have one or two to be playing all seven games. Although we need to win, we have to learn how to manage these guys to ensure we get the best out of them.”

Bennett also revealed that players’ recovery will be made easier due to their partnership with the Faculty of Sport at The UWI, Mona campus.

“We do have a memorandum of understanding with UWI’s Faculty of Sport so they take care of all our fitness and medical matters. So, it’s not a willy nilly thing where you have to call somebody in to do something when something happens; it’s in place so if anything happens, the players can go immediately to the clinic and the process of rehabilitation starts — so that’s important.”

Haynes, his staff, and the selectors are currently monitoring players as they prepare for the 2024/25 editions of the Super 50 Cup and the four-day competition in the coming months.