Training delayed

Welcome again to another Tuesday and thankfully the world is still spinning and the sun has come up even with everything else going on in the world.
I hope this finds you and your family well.
With the recent cases of Covid-19, our plan to start small-group skills training has been delayed again for at least a few weeks which is disappointing but that is life and we expect the players to adapt and overcome just as they would have to in a game.
Last week, we set a challenge for the whole group to train at home but achieve some totals. There were things like total distance ran and number of repetitions of a particular exercise like squats or push-ups.
We set a total of 80km in the long runs and 900 runs in sprints as a batting group. The bowlers shadow bowled 180 overs between them in their back yards. A bit of fun but also as cricket specific as we could make it.
The running between the wickets drill is a great one as we pride ourselves on being quicker and better runners then anyone else in our league — something that was shown in Dubai when Lega Siaka and Sese Bau ran two runs for a ball that did not travel more then 20m from the bat. These are the small things that we focus on to take advantage of the natural athleticism the players have.
With the bowlers, the run-throughs start to get some work into their legs to get ready to start bowling because the first cricket we have whenever we resume is 50-over cricket so being ready to bowl 10 overs is very important.
On top of this, the boys and the girls have been doing a lot of power exercises, including hitting tyres with sledgehammers and throwing heavy balls and bags around. This will help both groups hit the ball further and harder when cricket resumes. I cannot wait to see how far the white balls will fly.
Something that we are very conscious of is the restrictions the Government has put in place to safeguard everyone from the coronavirus. All our players are washing their hands regularly and keeping social distancing whilst training. WhatsApp has been great with helping us keep in touch and for both groups to post their daily workouts and some humour to keep everyone going during these tough times.
For me, I am back in Australia looking after my family but keeping busy planning and communicating with my team in Port Moresby.
I am in regular contact with the International Cricket Council to get everything ready for when we can start playing again so that we get as prepared as possible for the T20 World Cup and our one-day internationals that are just waiting to go.
I am really excited with the new Isuzu National Cup that will be launched this year and the planning is coming along nicely for that.
Well that is it for this week. Stay safe and well and please follow the guidelines given from the authorities.
Some of the players have told me about being scared as this virus closes in on them and their families. I have told them to follow the guidelines and they will be fine.
They should also keep talking to us all on the WhatsApp group so we can provide support and a laugh to get them through this period. So look after your mates and I will speak to you next week.

Cheers,
Joe