West Indies cancel training after pacer Marquino Mindley tests COVID-19 positive

Cricket West Indies (CWI), on Sunday, informed that they canceled their training session being held in St Lucia after fast bowler Marquino Mindley tested COVID-19 positive.

The West Indies red-ball training camp is being conducted in a bio-secure environment ahead of the two-match Test series against South Africa, which is scheduled to start on June 10.

Taking to their official Twitter account, CWI informed that the training session would resume on Monday in small groups as the members have tested negative after repeat tests. The CWI tweet read:

“Marquino Mindley tests positive for COVID-19. Training to start in small groups on Monday following negative repeat tests for training squad.”

On Marquino Mindley, CWI revealed through a statement that the West Indies pacer tested positive on his second test after PCR tests administered on Friday. CWI said:

“Following PCR Tests administered on Friday 21 May for all members of the West Indies Men’s red ball training camp being held in St Lucia, Jamaican fast bowler, Marquino Mindley, tested positive on his second COVID-19 test.”

CWI also clarified that Marquino Mindley is currently asymptomatic and will now self-isolate in his hotel room under the supervision of the Cricket West Indies (CWI) medical team until he returns two back-to-back negative results. The CWI statement added:

“All other members of the training squad and coaching team were re-tested and isolated in their rooms, with training cancelled for the weekend. All of these training squad and coaching team members have now tested negative following their repeat tests and the squad will train in small groups starting on Monday 24 May, at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground.”

The West Indies cricket board also informed that 43 members of West Indies’ playing and coaching staff have received vaccination doses.

Marquino Mindley tests positive for COVID-19 | Training to start in small groups on Monday following negative repeat tests for training squad. More below:https://t.co/Gn9kWElgFI

— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) May 23, 2021

Who is Marquino Mindley?

Marquino Mindley is a 26-year-old fast bowler from Jamaica. Having made his first-class debut in November 2014, he has featured in 35 games in which he has taken 84 wickets at an average of 25.29 with three five-wicket hauls.

Furthermore, Marquino Mindley has also featured in 11 List A matches in which he has taken nine scalps at an average of 37.77.

Ahead of the training camp, West Indies head coach Phil Simmons had stressed on the importance of the same. He was quoted as saying:

"This camp is very important for our preparation for the upcoming Test Series against South Africa and for the rest of our busy and exciting summer. We will continue the work which we began last year in England, to further develop our Test team into a force to be reckoned with in world cricket."

🚨BREAKING NEWS🚨 : Take a first look at the provisional 18-man squad ahead of the three back-to-back five-match T20 International (T20I) Series against South Africa, Australia and Pakistan. #MissionMaroonSquad Details⬇️ https://t.co/Caoq3lpPBc

— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) May 18, 2021

The Daren Sammy Cricket Stadium (DSCG) in St Lucia will host both the West Indies-South Africa Tests. The first Test will be played from June 10-14 and the second from June 18-22.