EVEN though he did not feature in any of the three Tests, Jamaican Marquino Mindley says he gained precious experience during the West Indies cricket team’s recent tour of England.

“It was my first senior tour and it gave me a look into what it takes at the highest level,” the 25-year-old swing bowler told the Jamaica Observer during an interview on Tuesday.

“You’re there training and you see how the players prepare for a Test match and see how the meetings are. It’s different from first class [cricket] because from ball one it’s [about giving] a 100 percent,” he explained.

“The experience was fantastic; I loved it, I enjoyed it and I’m grateful, and I wish another tour might come up soon that I’m a part of,” added Mindley, who was among 10 reserves in a wider squad of 25 players for the series which the hosts lost 1-2 last month.

The St Elizabeth native made the cut on the weight of his performances in regional first class cricket since debuting with a five-wicket, first-innings haul for Jamaica in 2014.

Last season’s four-day regional championship saw him achieving his highest wickets’ tally. He led Jamaica Scorpions with 24 wickets from six matches at 22.66, including a best of 5-65.

The three-Test series in England was contested in a bio-secure environment behind closed doors to reduce the risk of spreading the novel coronavirus.

Central to their preparation for the Tests, West Indies staged two intra-squad contests since traditional practice games against county sides were prohibited on the tour due to concerns about the virus.

In the warm-up games, Mindley, who remains uncapped at the senior international level, got good results in conditions which favoured swing, highlighted by 3-27 in the first innings of the opening encounter.

The pacer said the competitive nature of the training sessions and practice matches was a big plus.

“In the [practice] nets it feels like a match — you feel the batsman’s presence and the batsman feels the bowler’s presence. So when you come back down to first class cricket you know what it takes to get back there.

“The warm-up games were pretty good. I had played in England before so I understood the conditions, so it was alright. I bowled very well, the ball was coming out good and I got in some overs and picked up wickets. I’ve learned things that I can add to my game, and I’ve also gained confidence.

“It was very important to keep training [while the series went on] because being there as a reserve you can that any player can get injured. There were three Test matches and they were sharply behind each other so you had to put in the work, so that if the coach calls on you at any moment you’re ready,” he told the Observer.