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It appears that England’s tour of South Africa will get the go-ahead after an agreement was reached allowing the team to train during its quarantine period.
ESPNcricinfo understands that the South African government has agreed to waive the normal requirements for visitors from counties considered “high risk” in terms of Covid-19 infection. A formal confirmation of the tour is expected imminently.
As a result, the ECB is expected to charter a flight to Cape Town arriving on November 17, before the first international match some 10 days later. The team will stay at the Vineyard Hotel and train, at least initially, on the Western Province Cricket Club field, where they will play inter-team prep games. Later, South Africa will meet them at the same hotel.
Had the South African government refused to allow a waiver, the touring group would have been forced to self-quarantine in their hotel rooms for at least a week at the start of the tour. It appears that the ECB would have refused to tour under these circumstances.
The squad will still be required to quarantine, but will be allowed to train and use certain parts of the hotel during that period.
The teams will play three ODI and three T20I on the tour. All matches, which will be split between Newlands (in Cape Town) and Boland Park (in Paarl), will be played behind closed doors.
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It will be the first action by the South African men’s national team since they returned home from India in March when the pandemic struck. In that time, series have been postponed in Sri Lanka and the West Indies and have been unable to host India for three Q20Is. While the cost of hosting a large UK touring party with more than 40 people will be significant, the tour could prove vital to a board desperate for income.
Addressing the prospects for the tour during a Chance to Shine charity event, Eoin Morgan, England’s captain, recognized the importance of keeping international cricket afloat during this period of uncertainty, and said he looked forward to the challenge despite that you will approach the heels of your time at the IPL.
“There is a great responsibility not only to reach out to the parties in your home country, but a great responsibility to facilitate other countries around the world,” Morgan said. “We will do what we can to try to make cricket work again, because it means a lot to people locked up in their own countries, and also financially for Cricket South Africa.
“I know the concern we had about not throwing a ball all summer and the detrimental impact it would have,” he added, “probably on grassroots cricket more than any other part of the game. If the tour continues, it will. We would love to go down, as the series we played last time was amazing. “
England won the T20I leg of their white-ball tour of South Africa in February last year, after drawing 1-1 in the ODI, and Quinton de Kock, the South African captain, was also enjoying the prospect of a comeback series. .
“If the boys come, I’m sure it will be a good series once again,” he said during the Chance to Shine event. “The world saw the last series, although we lost, we continued to play incredible cricket, so did England. We hope it continues, but with the pandemic, who knows?”
Meanwhile, talks continue about a short tour to Pakistan in mid-January. While the ECB is clearly keen to make the tour go through, there is acceptance that the team could be something of a B team or even C. With England already committed to a two-round series in Sri Lanka at the same time. , and some players committed to the T20 cricket franchise (the ECB will not insist that anyone participate in the tour), the series could prove an opportunity for marginal players.
As things stand, the BCCI continues to insist that their tour against England take place in India. While the BCCI recently signed a memorandum of understanding creating closer ties with the Emirates Cricket Board, they are currently resisting suggestions that the UK tour will take place in the UAE. Instead, they are looking for options that include hosting all Trials in Mumbai and reducing the number of matches scheduled.
It’s unclear if this is a viable plan or an attempt to change public expectations ahead of the next IPL season, which is scheduled to begin in March. At this stage, it seems that when the England tour schedule is released, it is quite possible that it will include locations in India. But, with that MoU acting as a safety net, the games are likely to be played in the United Arab Emirates.
