Manchester Test – the fifth and final Test in the ongoing series has been postponed indefinitely in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak within the India contingent. BCCI said it was in talks with the ECB over conducting the Manchester Test at a later date.
The dramatic last-minute cancellation of the deciding fifth Manchester Test at Old Trafford between India and England has heightened the tension already surrounding the upcoming Ashes series, although English cricket’s top administrator still believes postponement is “probably not where we are going to end up”.
But with India having abandoned the fifth Manchester Test against England before a ball was bowled because of COVID-19 fears arising in a more relaxed ‘managed’ environment after officials deemed last year’s strict biosecure bubbles to be an unsustainable imposition on players in the long term, the upcoming Ashes could yet be played under tighter restrictions.
Manchester Test Cancellation Increased Tension For Ashes Which Would Be Played Under Tighter Restrictions
Several England cricketers have already expressed worries about the current situation in Australia, where arrivals are subject to lengthy quarantine, amid fears that their wives, girlfriends, and families may not be allowed to join them, as would normally be the case, at some stage during the five-match Ashes series.
It was not until just over two hours before Friday’s scheduled to start that the fifth Manchester Test was called off due to Covid-19 concerns within the India camp — a move that left English cricket facing a financial ‘black hole’ estimated at 40 million pounds ($55 million).
Reports that Yogesh Parmar, a physiotherapist in close contact with the players had tested positive for Covid appeared to be the final straw in persuading an India side already missing head coach Ravi Shastri, bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach Ramakrishnan Sridhar due to positive Covid tests, with senior physiotherapist Nitin Patel self-isolating, not to take the field in the Manchester Test in a series they led 2-1.
Meanwhile, suggestions India had been too lax in their approach to the new environment, be it Ravi Shastri’s presence at a London launch of his new book featuring some 150 guests, or reports that several of the tourists’ players were out in Manchester on Thursday night are unlikely to have gone unnoticed by Australian officials.
It remains to be seen how the boards can work out a window for the Manchester Test, though one could possibly be carved out when India returns to England next year for a scheduled limited-overs series.
Tom Harrison: Ashes Series Is A Massive Deal For World Cricket
The England and Wales Cricket Board are currently in the process of trying to agree on a set of protocols with their counterparts at Cricket Australia, as well as the Australian government, under which the Ashes can operate. A complicating factor, however, is the ability of individual Australian states to impose their own unilateral lockdowns at a moment’s notice.
“An Ashes series is a massive deal for world cricket,” ECB chief executive Tom Harrison told The Times.
“I think (postponement) is probably not where we are going to end up. All the England players want to be part of it. I totally understand the players’ perspective on families being present and the conditions under which families are present. It’s a conversation we’re having with Cricket Australia and the Australian government.”
The latest edition of Test cricket’s oldest series is set to begin in Brisbane on December 8 before moving to Adelaide ahead of the traditional Boxing Day Test in Melbourne and further matches in Sydney and Perth.
While Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth are largely virus-free and fans are allowed into venues, Sydney and Melbourne are both in lockdown battling outbreaks of the Delta variant with case numbers and deaths rising. Tom Harrison insisted the ECB were simply trying to get answers to questions being asked by England players and had no intention of making excessive demands.
“No one is being unreasonable,” he said. “We just need to get clarity as soon as possible.”
England does not yet know if star all-rounder Ben Stokes, currently taking a break from all cricket to prioritize his mental health, will be available.
Tom Harrison, however, said: “No player has said no (to the tour). We’re speaking to players a lot about this…There’s nothing more important than the health and well-being of our players.”
Ben Stokes, who announced an indefinite break from cricket due to mental health issues ahead of the England and India Test series, is highly doubtful to attend Ashes 2021. Ben Stokes is also not part of the upcoming IPL 2021 UAE leg and wasn’t included in England’s ICC T20 World Cup 2021 squad.