West Indies entertaining themselves with 'explosive' dominoes games

Phil Simmons: "We have to make sure practice is entertaining and the down-time is entertaining too."

Image: West Indies captain Jason Holder and assistant coach Roddy Estwick arrive in England

West Indies head coach Phil Simmons says captain Jason Holder is leading the way as the team try to entertain themselves while in quarantine at Old Trafford.

A 25-man squad landed in Manchester on Tuesday ahead of next month's Test series against England, heading straight to Lancashire's ground where they are combining a training camp with a mandatory 14-day quarantine.

A normal tour of England would involve a variety of cities and restaurants but, by training and staying on-site in a 'bio-secure' bubble for the duration of the trip, the West Indies are facing an unusual set of problems for a touring side.

"The biggest challenge is boredom," said Simmons.

"We all have locked down for a number of months whichever part of the world we've been in.

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"Boredom is something we have to monitor.

"We have to make sure practice is entertaining and the down-time is entertaining too.

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"There's always dominoes - as you can imagine, if you've been to the Caribbean, that is a highly explosive form of entertainment.

"We've been playing games in a games room, we have a golf simulation centre, we have cards, a few things the guys are enjoying.

"We have some characters, including the captain Jason Holder, who keeps everything lively."

Image: Jason Holder will be leading the West Indies' defence of the Wisden Trophy against England

Simmons, who played 26 Tests and 143 ODIs between 1988 and 1997, has been watching highlights of the West Indies side who were the world's best team in the 1980s, and hopes their exploits can motivate the current generation.

He said: "We're trying to bring that back, get younger guys to understand where we've come from in terms of being top of the world for such a long time.

"Last week I saw the Lord's Test (from 1984) where Gordon Greenidge scored a double century on the last day.

"Sometimes when you know the whole West Indies saga is coming from it gives you more impetus to be pushing forward to get the team back on top.

"It's something we are trying to do back home as much as possible."

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