Former Australia speedster Brett Lee is of the opinion that bowlers will find it harder to get back to form and adjust to the rigours of international cricket whenever it resumes amid the coronavirus crisis.
It’s been over two months since the last international match was played between Australia and New Zealand. Cricket like all other sports, was put on hold as soon as the coronavirus was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in the first-half of March.
Cricketers, just like athletes from other sports, are confined to their homes and forced to practice with whatever resource is available to them.
While some have big yards or lawns inside their housing complex, there are some who live in apartments and hence, are improvising their training routines accordingly.
But nothing comes close to the real deal and staying in shape, waiting for resumption of the sport will be hard on the cricketers, especially the bowlers, according to Brett Lee.
“I think it’s hard on both batsmen and bowlers. Probably takes a bit longer for a bowler to try to find that form, because its normally a 6 to 8 week period where you get upto full pace again.
“Playing one day cricket or Test cricket, a good 8 weeks of leading and bowling at full pace to get into that match fitness.
“So, it will be a bit tougher for the bowlers,” Lee said on Star Sports show Cricket Connected when asked ‘whom will it be tougher to find their rhythm after the lockdown – Batsmen? Or Bowlers?’.
West Indies Test players, including captain Jason Holder, became the first lot of cricketers to resume their training in small groups following the lockdown hiatus.
The likes of Jason Holder, Kraigg Brathwaite, Shai Hope, Kemar Roach, Shane Dowrich, etc trained at the Kensington Oval in Barbados behind closed doors on Monday.
The Indian health ministry has also allowed the use of stadiums and sports complexes in the fourth stage of the lockdown which means cricketers could soon be seen practicing on the field before the official resumption of the sport.
