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Sunday’s One Day International between South Africa and England in Paarl was abandoned after two members of the tour group returned unconfirmed positive tests for the novel coronavirus, the Cricket Board of England and Wales (ECB) said.
A decision will be made on whether the last two games in the series will be played on Monday and Wednesday as scheduled once the test results have been ratified.
The abandonment follows a new round of testing after two hotel workers in the biosecurity environment where both teams are staying tested positive.
England had previously raised concerns about the strength of the biosecure environment.
“We regret not being able to play in today’s ODI, but the well-being of the players and support staff is our primary concern and while we await the results of further testing, the medical advice from both teams was that this game should not be carried out. out, “Ashley Giles, managing director of England Men’s Cricket, said in a statement Sunday.
“We are in constant dialogue with Cricket South Africa and will continue to work closely with them to determine the best way forward.”
South Africa’s director of cricket Graeme Smith said they hope the last two matches can be played.
“We deeply regret the situation we find ourselves in after the amount of time and energy that has been invested to organize a successful tour,” he said.
“We are in ongoing discussions with the ECB as we navigate the situation under the guidance of our combined medical teams.”
The unconfirmed positive results bring the number of Covid-19-related incidents on the six-match white-ball tour to seven, two of which occurred in the South African camp before the series began. Now there have been five in the biosecure environment.
Roy Davies, general manager of the Vineyard Hotel where the teams are staying, said the hotel is still investigating how two staff members contracted the virus.
“At this stage, it is not clear how the staff members became infected, as neither of them has left the biosecurity area since November 16 and does not work on the same team or in the same area,” he said in a release.
“Our Covid-19 response team is working hard to establish all the facts and contact tracing is underway.”
It would be a huge blow to cash-strapped Cricket South Africa if the rest of the tour were to be canceled and put future visits from Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Australia into question in the coming months.
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