January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Hemp gets to work
Says yoga can help Bermuda’s squad
Hemp gets to work
Hemp got his first taste of the training regimen at a yoga and pilates session with his new team-mates on Monday.
The deep breathing and core strength exercises are part of the intensive preparations for the tour of Africa where Hemp, who arrived on the island on Saturday evening, will make his debut.
It's an innovative part of Gus Logie's training regime - aimed at helping the players to keep their cool when the pressure is on.
But Hemp, recently appointed captain of Glamorgan in the English county leagues, admitted it was all new to him.
"It was the first time I'd ever done anything like that so it was quite interesting. I know Northants and a couple of the other sides in the county leagues got into it, and it paid off for them.
"If it makes you more aware of your body and more relaxed at the wicket then it's got to help."
Hemp said there was a good team spirit among the lads and he was quickly beginning to feel part of the squad.
"They enjoy each others company, they enjoy the things they are doing and that's got to be good. It's not just nets, it's a nice variety - tactical sessions, yoga, lots of different things."
Hemp said he was currently just feeling his way into it, getting to know his new team-mates and getting his eye back in after a few weeks off, at the end of the cricket season.
The Bermuda born middle-order batsman has met the squad before but this is the first time he has been able to train with them.
And Hemp said his involvement with the Bermuda World Cup bid as well as his elevation to the captaincy at Glamorgan had given his career a new lease of life at a time when many of his contemporaries were looking towards retirement.
It's tough on his family, who see little enough of him during the county season, and it can be a lonely existence at times as something of an outsider, living in a hotel, and …
But for Hemp, who will get to spend a week with his wife and son in Bermuda, before the Africa trip, the pay-off is worth the sacrifices.
"A lot of players my age are winding down their careers and thinking of things to do when they get out.
"The fact that I've got the opportunity to captain Glamorgan and to play internationally with Bermuda has given me a new focus and a new direction in cricket.
"I'm certainly going to look to play as long as I can. I don't want to look back in a few years and wish I had done x, y and z."
Hemp will train with the squad for the next two weeks before they travel to Kenya and South Africa to take on the Kenyans and Holland in four-day matches as well as Kenya, Canada and Holland in a total of seven one-day match-ups.
More national team yoga session photos on Friday![[In-content Ad]]
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