Pakistan captain Babar Azam said Wednesday there was no thought of abandoning the team’s white-ball tour of England after learning of a major coronavirus outbreak within the home squad.
Two days before the one-day series was scheduled to begin, England announced that seven of its personnel — three players and four members of the backroom staff — had tested positive for coronavirus.
Pakistan Captain Babar Azam Didn’t Think About Tour Being In Jeopardy After 7 MMembers Of England Tested Covid-19 Positive
With the rest of the squad instructed to isolate after being identified as close contacts, the tour — featuring three ODIs and three Twenty20 matches — could have been in jeopardy but the England and Wales Cricket Board hastily assembled an entirely new 18-strong squad from across England’s county game.
Asked whether there was any temptation to call off the trip, Pakistan skipper Babar said: “No, we didn’t think about it, it didn’t come into our minds at any time. The PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) and ECB have assured us that they will take care of the safety and health of all the squad members. Of course, it was disappointing news. We must understand that these are unprecedented times of COVID-19. We are focusing on cricket and the first game.”
The development comes on Thursday in Cardiff and Pakistan skipper Babar Azam was keen to underline that Pakistan will not be underestimating a revised England squad containing nine players uncapped at the ODI level.
“We can’t take any player playing for England lightly,” said Babar Azam of Pakistan, the top-ranked ODI batsman who has represented Somerset in English county cricket over the last couple of years. They may be new players but they are playing for England. I know a few of them having played in the T20 Blast and those we don’t know we have researched their performances.”
Test batsmen Zak Crawley and Daniel Lawrence join Durham seamer Brydon Carse, Tom Helm of Middlesex, Somerset all-rounder Lewis Gregory, Surrey’s Will Jacks, Gloucestershire left-arm pacer David Payne, Sussex opening batsman Phil Salt, and Middlesex wicketkeeper John Simpson as those in the 18-strong group yet to feature for England in 50-over cricket.
Ben Stokes: England Is Walking Out As The No. 1 Team Irrespective Of New Faces
Ben Stokes will captain England in its emergency, having been left out of the original group to continue his recovery from finger surgery. The all-rounder has been recalled on England’s makeshift squad to make the most of an unexpected opportunity.
“One thing I told myself to tell the team is that, although this has been a very quick turnaround of events in having to pick a new squad, it does not matter what names are on the back of an England shirt. We are walking out there as the No. 1 team,” Stokes said.
“That is an exciting thing to say you are a part of,” he continued, “whether you are an experienced player, young player or someone coming into the group for the first time. Situations like these are so rare and such a fluster, I would say you have got a chance to represent your country so let’s do it with a smile on our face and just enjoy it as much as we can as a group.”
England had earlier named a 16 member squad comprising of skipper Eoin Morgan and the likes of seasoned campaigners Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, Chris Woakes, and Joe Root. After the Covid-19 outbreak, England named a new 18 member squad captained by Ben Stokes and consisting of 9 uncapped players. Still, there is no recall for Alex Hales.
The series gets underway on July 8 in Cardiff, with subsequent ODIs to be played on July 10 and 13 at Lord’s and Birmingham, respectively. The 50-over series will be followed by three T20Is, scheduled between July 16 to 20.
England revised squad for ODIs: Ben Stokes, Jake Ball, Danny Briggs, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Lewis Gregory, Tom Helm, Will Jacks, Daniel Lawrence, Saqib Mahmood, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Matt Parkinson, David Payne, Phil Salt, John Simpson, James Vince