England’s tour of South Africa is in jeopardy after two unnamed members of the touring England party tested positive for the dreaded virus COVID-19. The announcement was followed by the abandonment of the first ODI at Paarl in South Africa.
The match had been called off half an hour before the start of play due to two members of staff at the Vineyard hotel testing positive for the coronavirus after which the England team and staff were tested again on Saturday 5th December evening.
England’s Tour Of South Africa Is In Jeopardy After 2 Members Of England Returned Positive For Covid-19
The limited-overs tour consisting of 3 ODIs, after completion of 3 T20Is, that has already seen three South African players emerge having already tested positive is in jeopardy. Initially, Friday 4th December’s initial ODI series-opener at Cape Town was called off and postponed to Sunday, 6th December at Paarl while 2nd ODI was re-scheduled at Cape Town on 7th.
A joint statement from Cricket South Africa and the England and Wales Cricket Board read: “CSA and the ECB have agreed to cancel today’s One-Day International match, which was due to take place in Paarl. The decision was taken after two hotel staff members testing positive for COVID-19. As a precaution, the England players and management underwent an additional round of PCR tests on Saturday evening.”
“Following the test results, two members of the England touring party have returned unconfirmed positive tests for Covid-19. The players and management are now self-isolating in their rooms until further advice from the medical teams. The medical advice from both CSA and ECB is that the match cannot not take place. A decision on the remaining matches in the series will be taken once the results of the tests are ratified independently by medical experts.”
The ODI series is now in danger of being cancelled or postponed following this latest development. However, the 3 T20Is went smoothly with England winning all 3 to hand South Africa a whitewash.
An hour before the start of play, neither buses of teams arrived which raised suspicion at Boland Park, Paarl after which the announcement of an initial delay to proceedings was announced 25 minutes before the scheduled toss was about to happen.
Ashley Giles And Graeme Smith, Directors Of Cricket Regret Situation But Will Work Closely With Each Other To Assess Situation
England are still waiting for the results from a fresh round of testing that took place on Saturday night. The match was then officially abandoned at 9.35 am before a joint statement landed just over an hour later that confirmed the two cases among the touring party. Both Ashley Giles and Graeme Smith expressed regrets after the cancellation of 1st ODI at Paarl.
Ashley Giles, managing director of England men’s cricket, said: “We regret that we are unable to play in today’s ODI, but the welfare of the players and support staff is our primary concern and whilst we await the results of further tests the medical advice from both teams was that this game should not take place. We remain in constant dialogue with Cricket South Africa and will continue to work closely with them to determine how best to move forward.
CSA director of cricket, Graeme Smith added: “CSA is doing everything in our power to ensure that our top priority, which is the health, safety and welfare of players, support staff and all involved in this series is safeguarded. We are in continuous talks with the ECB as we navigate the situation under the guidance of our combined medical teams.”
Roy Davies who is the general manager of the Vineyard Hotel in Newlands has confirmed further contract tracing has begun amidst widespread uncertainty as questions have been raised on the manner the virus entered the bio-bubble and then seemingly spread.
Davies said: “At this stage, it is not clear how the staff members became infected as neither have left the bio-secure area since 16 November and they do not work on the same team or in the same area. Our Covid response team is endeavoring to establish all the facts and contact tracing is under way.”
“Both members of staff and a player who also tested positive on Friday are currently isolated in on-site apartments some distance from the hotel which have been kept sterilized and available for this purpose. ”
The two teams were scheduled to play against each other at Newlands on Monday and Wednesday for the second and third one-day internationals, but now owing to the crisis, the fixtures hang clearly in the balance. Cricket South Africa may incur losses in broadcast revenues and may also result in impact from upcoming visits this season by Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Australia.
England had already expressed their concerns and reservations with the integrity of the biosecurity arrangements for the tour after Friday’s positive result in the South African camp. The latest development will only intensify the concerns further after the latest positive test results in England’s party.