SAMUELS
BATTING ALL-rounder Marlon Samuels said he is very anxious to get in some cricket at the start of the West Indies three-Test tour of Australia.
"I am definitely looking forward to going out there against Queensland on Thursday in the first practice game," Samuels said after a third day of intense training under head coach Bennett King at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane.
"We have to start winning right away and to do that we need to put out a special team effort," the 24-year-old said yesterday evening.
"They (Queensland), have some top players in their line-up so it will be a challenge and a good warm-up in preparation for the first Test," Samuels reasoned.
"The training we have been doing has been a bit difficult over the past few days, we have been doing some very intense work," the elegant right-handed batsman said.
"It is extremely hard at times which is different to what I was accustomed to on my other tours with the West Indies team," Samuels said.
"Previously we would train from 9:00 a.m. to about 1:00 p.m. and be done for the day but now with Bennett (King) we work from 9:00a.m. and finish 'til about 5:00 p.m. and it is continuous work," the middle-order bat and part-time off-spinner explained.
"The workload is heavy but the guys are all coping and doing quite well and we are all enjoying it so far," said Samuels, who has been excelling in the speed and strength segments of the fitness drills and testing.
"Even though training has been difficult, the people watching us train are all seeing a smiling and happy bunch of guys who are all enjoying each other's company," Samuels observed.
