Published: Jul 09, 2016, 10:18 AM (IST)
Edited: Jul 09, 2016, 10:29 AM (IST)
Hong Kong‘s head coach Simon Cook feels that their players have gone through a drastic change training with Hong Kong Professional Institute (HKSI). They have been associated with the organisation for a while now. Hong Kong’s early exit from ICC T20 World Cup;s Round 1 hosted in India had a negative impact on players’ morale. After the tournament they have been working hard on their fitness levels in the fitness camp at HKSI. Simon Cook also believes that the camp has infused professionalism into players and they are trying hard to get in shape. Hong Kong will be touring Ireland for an Intercontinental Cup fixture on August 30. They will also be playing two ODIs with Scotland. ALSO READ: Hong Kong team in T20 World Cup 2016, Review: Cricket on a weak non-indigenous foundation
Simon Cook told Cricbuzz, “The HKSI has had a huge impact in terms of the resources and facilities we can use. Our contracted players are up there every Monday doing body composition testing and blood tests to ensure they are in the right training zone. The data we are getting is really positive. They’ve never been as fit and the testing results have been outstanding. One of Hong Kong’s star batsmen, Babar Hayat, has improved sharply, losing five kilos since starting the new program.” ALSO READ: Babar Hayat’s 122 against Oman helps him enter the top 5 for most number of runs scored in a T20I innings
Hong Kong’s key player Babar Hayat also feels the same way about the role of HKSI. Babar said, “I think being with HKSI has been really good. When we started at the beginning it was tough doing two sessions a day, but once we progressed and got used to, it’s much easier for us now. The access to their facilities and physios and other staff has been a big factor as well.”
Simon Cook also believes that their improved fitness level will bring drastic changes in players’ performance. He said, “That [lack of fitness] was the big lesson from the World T20. We weren’t at a level where we could sustain a performance for any length of time. We couldn’t back up our performances, so we just needed to give them a platform to be able to perform as consistently as possible.”
Two of Hong Kong players will not be going to Ireland. Mark Chapman has university exams and James Atkinson will be doing his job with French International School in Hong Kong itself. “However we have some good players coming through who can make up for those deficiencies and we’ll still be looking at winning every game as we are up the sharp end of the ladder” Simon Cook added.
