Former West Indies batting coach Toby Radford believes ‘quarantine fatigue’ could explain the poor performance of some players currently taking part in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

So far this year’s edition of the tournament, which has been staged in the unusual circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic, has in many instances produced low scores and poor batting performances. 

There have been many factors blame for some of the poor showing, the absence of a crowd, poorly prepared pitches, and players that are still rusty, are some of a few that have been advanced.  However, another is the length of time some players have been away from family and friends in back-to-back quarantine-required competition.

For players like West Indies captain Jason Holder, Rahkeem Cornwall, Jermaine Blackwood, Shai Hope, and other members of the regional team that toured England, the CPL follows several weeks of quarantine during the international series.  With even more restrictive conditions in the CPL, Radcliffe believes the isolation could be taking its toll.

“I’m not making excuses for them but some of those guys have been in a bubble in the UK for two or three months earlier in the summer.  I think some were back in Barbados for about 5 days before heading back to Trinidad for another bubble,” Radcliffe told the Mason and Guest radio program.

“They’ve barely been home in the last 3 and a half months, that’s no excuse, but it does have an effect.  It is attritional, even if you are away from home for those times normally on tour you can go to a restaurant, you can eat out, meet up with your family and get away from cricket…it does have a mental effect.”