Sri Lanka's national team trained together for a second successive day Tuesday following a two-and-a-half month lay-off due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
The players were put through their paces at the Colombo Colts Cricket Stadium to sharpen their skills and fitness ahead of a potential restart of the international game.
Cricket in the country came to a halt on March 13 when the visiting England team pulled out on the second day of a four-day practice match ahead of their two-Test series.
A 13-member squad including skipper Dimuth Karunaratne began a 12-day training session with indoor fitness drills on Monday. Ground training start Tuesday.
The squad consists mostly of bowlers, with governing body Sri Lanka Cricket saying on Sunday they needed more conditioning before returning to competitive games.
Among those training were Suranga Lakmal, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, Isuru Udana, Lasith Embuldeniya, Lakshan Sandakan, Dasun Shanaka and Nuwan Pradeep.
They will not be allowed to leave their hotel in Colombo or the practice venue for personal errands, the cricket board said.
Coach Mickey Arthur had customised home-training regimes for many players in the national team after the lockdown was imposed.
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'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
What is the Supreme Petroleum Council?
The Abu Dhabi Supreme Petroleum Council was established in 1988 and is the highest governing body in Abu Dhabi’s oil and gas industry. The council formulates, oversees and executes the emirate’s petroleum-related policies. It also approves the allocation of capital spending across state-owned Adnoc’s upstream, downstream and midstream operations and functions as the company’s board of directors. The SPC’s mandate is also required for auctioning oil and gas concessions in Abu Dhabi and for awarding blocks to international oil companies. The council is chaired by Sheikh Khalifa, the President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi while Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, is the vice chairman.
England Test squad
Ben Stokes (captain), Joe Root, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, Alex Lees, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts
