England captain Joe Root’s participation in the first Test match against West Indies in July is under doubt as he is expecting his second child’s birth around the same time. As per ECB guidelines, after attending his child’s birth, he would have to go under seven-days quarantine before rejoining the team for the rest of the two matches.
Currently, Joe Root is holding his individual training sessions at Trent Bridge rather than Headingly, where his other teammates are practicing. The first Test match against the West Indies will be played at Ageas Bowl from July 8-12 and Root’s wife is due around the same time, The Telegraph reported.
Test series being played under bio-secure environment:
The 25-member West Indies squad will travel through chartered planes and will land the UK next week. At old Trafford, they will have to follow 14-day quarantine as per England’s government rules. They would be kept under a bio-secure environment to curb the spread of the deadly COVID-19. The players would not be allowed to leave their hotels, and a medical team would be with them who would continuously check their temperatures.
Joe Root has led England decently in the past:
The first Test match would be played from July 8 while the remaining two at Old Trafford (July 16-20 and July 24-28). And if everything goes well, England would host the next Test series against Pakistan from August. The two would also play the T20I series.
Notably, West Indies player Shimron Hetmyer, Keemo Paul and Darren Bravo have refused to travel England for their safety and family concerns. CWI confirmed that no disciplinary action would be taken against the trio.
Meanwhile, the England team had already resumed training sessions for 55 players at Headingly. Chris Woakes, Stuart Board and many other prominent players have joined the individual training camp.