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- Cricket South Africa and the Cricket Board of England and Wales agreed to cancel the opening ODI between the sides at Boland Park on Sunday.
- CSA Cricket Director Graeme Smith said they are “deeply sorry for this situation.”
- Three Proteas players have tested positive and two unconfirmed positive tests from the England tour match have called into question the remaining matches.
The opening ODI between the Proteas and England has been canceled in Paarl as the coronavirus continues to disturb the short visit of tourists to the country originally scheduled to include three T20I and three ODI.
Since teams entered a specially created biobubble on November 18, Covid-19 has continued to rock the tour.
Following a tumultuous This year, Cricket South Africa (CSA) has once again been the center of attention, this time for the safety and well-being of its players, the England team and its support staff.
Following the cancellation of the first ODI at Boland Park, Director of Cricket Graeme smith He said CSA is “deeply sorry” for the difficult circumstances that have affected the tour.
“CSA is doing everything in our power to ensure that our top priority, which is the health, safety and well-being of the players, the support staff and everyone involved in this series, is protected. With that in mind Mind you, we have made the joint decision to cancel today’s match, “said the former Proteas captain.
“We deeply regret this situation given the amount of time and energy that has been put into putting together a successful tour. We will continue to provide the England team with all the support they need.”
“We are in ongoing discussions with the ECB as we navigate the situation under the guidance of our combined medical teams.”
So far, three Proteas players have tested positive for the coronavirus and the most recent incident involving the home team occurred before Friday’s postponed ODI.
On Sunday, an hour before the start of the rescheduled match in Paarl, CSA confirmed that two staff members at the Vineyard Hotel, the base for both England and the Proteas, had tested positive for Covid-19.
As a precaution, England’s players and management underwent an additional round of PCR testing on Saturday night.
It was later confirmed that two members of the group touring England returned with unconfirmed positive tests for Covid-19.
A decision will be made on the remaining two ODIs (Monday and Wednesday at Newlands) once England’s test results are “independently ratified by medical experts.”
England have grappled with biobubbles before, as they recently completed a successful summer of cricket against the West Indies, Ireland, Pakistan and Australia.
This was Proteas’ first experience of hosting and participating as a team in a biosecure environment.
Proteas ODI Template:
Quinton de Kock (Captain, Titans), Temba Bavuma (Lions), Junior Dala (Titans), Beuran Hendricks (Lions), Heinrich Klaasen (Titans), George Linde (Cape Cobras), Keshav Maharaj (Dolphins), Janneman Malan (Cape Cobras), David Miller (Dolphins), Lungi Ngidi (Titans), Anrich Nortje (Warriors), Andile Phehlukwayo (Dolphins), Tabraiz Shamsi (Titans), Lutho Sipamla (Lions), Jon-Jon Smuts (Warriors), Glenton Stuurman ( Warriors), Rassie van der Dussen (Lions), Kyle Verreynne (Corporal Cobras)
England ODI Squad:
Eoin Morgan (Middlesex, Captain), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Sam Billings (Kent), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Tom Curran (Surrey), Lewis Gregory (Somerset), Liam Livingstone (Lancashire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), Olly Stone (Warwickshire), Reece Topley (Surrey), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham)
The Proteas modified the tour dates:
Monday, December 7 – 2nd ODI, Newlands, Cape Town (Day-Night Match)
Wednesday 9 December 2020 – 3rd ODI, Newlands, Cape Town (Match day-night).
