It has been back to the junior cricket days for Sydney Thunder leg spinner Jono Cook ahead of the 11th instalment of the Big Bash League tournament.
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The Port Macquarie product hasn't had an ideal preparation as he looks to create a routine in an uncertain world with this summer's competition set to start on December 5.
Juggling work as an environmental planner along with public health order restrictions has meant the 31-year-old heads to a local park in Clovelly to train.
He just doesn't have time to head to the Cricket NSW facilities.
"My training has gone back to my junior cricket days and going down to the nets where we've only been able to train with one other person for the majority of the time," he told the Port News.
"There has been a lot of basic one-on-one training where you make sure you're getting the body right, but fortunately where I live there are quite a few guys who I play cricket with who are willing to train."
The first ball in the Thunder's campaign is still a little under two months away but Cook admits the uncertainty of it all did result in an element of anxiety.
But they also knew what to expect after most of last season was affected by COVID which saw most games played in hubs.
Cook knows that remains a possibility for the 2021/2022 Big Bash League season.
"There's a little bit of anxiety going into this season and what it might look like and whether it's similar to last year," he said.
"There was a lot of difficulty around family and partners coming into the bubble which added a bit of stress particularly around that Christmas period. But after last year - which was everyone's first experience - everyone's learned a lot and know what to expect for this year.
"You do have to adapt to a different lifestyle and cricket routine."
The prospect of being based in hubs and spending a lot of time in one location had taken some of the appeal for players away.
"One of the most fun things about playing in the BBL is travelling around and going state to state," Cook said.
"Last year we were in Canberra for a four-week period at the start and a two-week period in the middle and we got to go to Gold Coast, Perth but it was out of the normal routine we experienced in the previous seasons."
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