[ad_1]
Who ruined the biosecurity bubble for the Proteas and England teams at The Vineyard Hotel in Cape Town has become the subject of a dispute between Cricket South Africa (CSA) and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
The ODI series between South Africa and England is in grave danger of not being played at all after two English players tested positive for Covid-19 at the weekend, following positive tests from two Vineyard staff. The touring team was retested after the first ODI, to be played on Friday, but had to be postponed due to a positive test at Proteas camp.
It was rescheduled for Sunday, but that match, as well as a game at Newlands on Monday, was also canceled after positive tests from England. Those results are now being scrutinized by independent medical experts, and if the positive result is confirmed, the series will almost certainly be canceled. The results are expected to be known Monday night.
This would cost CSA millions of rands, but several players from England have lucrative Big Bash contracts in Australia to fulfill and the rest just want to get home by Christmas, so having to spend time in isolation is something they are desperately trying to do. avoid. .
READ ALSO: England’s Curran resigns from Aussie Big Bash due to virus bubble fatigue
And on Monday, the ECB responded to an accusation made by Newlands Stadium Manager Clifford Dodgen that they had broken protocol on the field on Thursday.
In an email sent to representatives of the ECB, CSA, the Claremont South African Police Services station commander and the visible police commander, and seen by The citizen, Dodgen reveals a violation of the England team.
“Please note that the England cricket team has not adhered to the arrangements agreed upon by all at the ESSPC (Event Protection and Safety Planning Committee) meetings. Practice nets next to the construction site cannot be used on practice days. Three net cages were placed in the field plaza, ”wrote Dodgen.
“This serves to inform you that the England cricket team has accessed and used the nets today (3 December) at your own risk. The Western Province Cricket Association and the ESSPC will not be responsible for the safety and health of the England cricket team. “
READ ALSO: Second ODI postponed, but plug on Proteas series not yet removed
But an England Cricket spokesperson said The citizen Monday: “Arriving in Newlands on December 3, we informed the venue that the three networks provided in the main field were not of a standard for conducive practice, as per the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the respective boards. The batsmen were unable to face the stitching bowlers in the main field nets as the surfaces were plastered and unacceptable.
“We asked CSA that we would like to use the practice nets and that we would create a security cordon to ensure that players and coaches could enter the facility safely, as was previously done on November 28. This was confirmed by the England security team, the team operations manager and the team medic. We were satisfied with this result and we were able to practice on the net safely.
“When it comes to the England tour, the safety and health of our players and coaches was not compromised.”
The networks in question are typically used by teams playing in Newlands, but the area now sees foot traffic from workers at the construction site.
Members of both teams have also been exposed to people outside the bubble by being able to play golf at Boschenmeer in Paarl.
For more news your way, download The Citizen app to iOS Y Android.
[ad_2]
