West Indies coach Phil Simmons reckons playing Test series against England behind closed doors will be of "help" to the visitors, who otherwise would've had to face the hostile English crowds at stadiums during their three-Test trip.
International cricket will resume after COVID-19 hiatus with the first Test in Southampton from July 8. The series is scheduled to take place in a bio-secure bubble, without any crowd presence and in adherence with the highest safety protocols amid the pandemic.
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The Calypso Kings have already reached there and will be going through a three-week quarantine period in Manchester before focus shifts to the on-field action.
"I don't know if it will increase our chances, because both teams are under the same umbrella - for want of a better word," said Simmons in a video conference from the team's training base at Old Trafford.
"The nice part for us is that 20,000 Englishmen raving for England, and that crowd support, it's not there for them. So that in a way will help us, so it's good from that point of view," he added.
Besides the lack of fans, Simmons is banking on the long break to even things out between the two teams in those conditions.
"England hasn't come from a tour recently, and we've just been playing cricket (spending time) at home. Because in a normal situation we would have been coming from camps and England would have been halfway through their season and the series would have been going on right now," he said.
"So, I think that is a plus for us, because it evens out things a little bit, with the fact they haven't been playing competitive cricket for a while also."
West Indies need not win, but only draw the series somehow to retain the prestigious Wisden Trophy, having won the previous battle at home 2-1 last year.
Simmons understands that in itself has become a more difficult task, considering the absence of Shimron Hetmyer, Darren Bravo and Keemo Paul, who have opted out of the tour citing health concerns amid the pandemic.
"Unfortunately a few guys decided not to come but we are here with the best squad that we can have here. And from the way we've started our work, the guys have been putting in, I think we'll be ready and looking to defend our trophy," he said.
"We know what we'll be missing. But in situations like this, we have to work hard with the guys who are here and make sure that what we're doing is putting them in a position to fill those two shoes for the series. Hopefully whoever fills the shoes can go on and be as great as they want to be," Simmons added.
(Inputs from PTI)
