West Indies appoint fitness specialist

The West Indies Cricket Board has called on the services of an Australian rugby union fitness specialist, in a bid to improve the athletic prowess of the Caribbean's cricketers.

Bryce Cavanagh, the former physical performance manager with the New South Wales Waratahs, has been appointed as West Indies' strength and conditioning co-ordinator. His two-year contract begins next week and it is expected that he will arrive in time for the third Test against South Africa, beginning in Barbados next week.

Cavanagh's role will be two-fold, according to the WICB. He will be required to produce fitness programmes for players in the national squad, concentrating on the areas of strength and conditioning, coordination, speed, agility, power and balance.

And, in a wider remit, he will also be on the lookout for similarly qualified personnel across the Caribbean, to ensure that - when his contract expires in 2007 - there will be a cadre of strength and conditioning trainers who will be able to carry on the necessary programmes at all levels.

Cavanagh spent five years with New South Wales Rugby after completing a sports science degree at the University of Technology, Sydney and a Graduate Diploma in Education at the Australian Catholic University, also in Sydney. As an expert in biomechanics, his appointment brings the Caribbean up to speed with most other leading cricket nations, all of whom have embraced the scientific aspect of the game in recent years.

"The expertise that Mr Cavanagh brings will not be limited to the West Indies team but will benefit all our members," said Roger Brathwaite, the chief executive of the WICB, adding that the appointment was a vital cog in ensuring that the best technical resources are made available to the West Indies team.