Border restrictions are tightening in NSW, but CA won’t rush to make a decision on any changes to the series.
Cricket Australia is closely monitoring a growing Covid-19 outbreak in Sydney’s North Beaches region as state governments move to tighten their borders across the country and force early contingency planning around the Test. SCG in the new year. David Warner, who is currently in Sydney continuing his recovery from the groin injury that ruled him out of the first test, may fly to Melbourne early to avoid potential additional border restrictions to Victoria.
Several members of the Sydney-based broadcast production teams in Adelaide were removed as a precaution on Friday morning, commentator Brett Lee flew home to Sydney, and three members of the SEN commentary team, Gavin Robertson, Brad Haddin and Matt White, Adelaide left. CA issued a directive to all the media covering the test match to report whether they had visited the North Beach region in the last three weeks.
The group, centered around Avalon Beach north of Sydney, is currently at 28 cases and growing, although New South Wales Health has successfully tracked all but one of the contacts. The region north of the Spit Bridge is currently under stay-at-home orders, but the borders of South Australia and Victoria, both critical to the ongoing test series between Australia and India, remain open for New South Wales. The Victoria state government has announced a permit system for visitors to New South Wales in the south, while also advising its own residents not to visit Sydney for the time being.
We started by thinking about how to play the entire series as safely as possible, and will be taking the same approach in the days and weeks to come. We have contingency plans around a wide range of different options, and we have had to be agile at all times. He encouraged us to have 17 cases yesterday and 10 today, and we will see how it develops in the next 72 hours.Nick hockley
It is understood that CA has been in constant dialogue with the Melbourne Cricket Club to ensure that a field is ready to play back-to-back events at the MCG should the Sydney outbreak grow further. However, the governing body insists it will not make binding decisions too quickly, while noting that the current situation in Sydney underscores the prudence of maintaining core protocols around the India series and the concurrent BBL, which has matches scheduled. to be played in Tasmania. , Queensland, ACT and South Australia for the next two weeks.
“There have been many discussions and meetings of our medical experts, but this is the reason why during the summer we have had our players in bubbles in the center,” CA Acting Executive Director Nick Hockley told SEN Radio. “We are monitoring the situation; we are not panicking, let’s stay calm. Adelaide, a few weeks ago we had that pizza outbreak and through that process we worked very calmly to get the Adelaide players to take a charter plane.” , out of Adelaide in 24 hours and that really saved the summer.
“We have the Sydney test and the BBL in NSW after that, so the fact that we are here in Adelaide, we have the next test in Melbourne, it’s really watch, wait and see and I think governments across the country have handled the pandemic so well, so we will watch, learn and stay in touch. “
Hockley dismissed notions that the SCG test was in doubt, not at this stage. “I don’t think so, this is why we have the centers in place,” he said. “It has been interesting, as we have worked to achieve almost zero community transmission, we have had many questions about whether we need the centers. In recent weeks they have not been so much about protecting people against the coronavirus as about getting entangled.” We knew that cases were going to appear, so we did not get caught in this network of people who have to isolate themselves.
“Whether it’s the WBBL players, the BBL players, the BCCI, our own Australian teams, they have been absolutely fantastic in handling all the protocols. Our medical experts have been working around the clock, we are in great shape. communication with health authorities across the country. It is one of the things we have had to face to raise cricket safely. “
If states close their borders, for example from New South Wales to Queensland between the third and fourth tests, Hockley said the matter would be handled on a case-by-case basis. “The fact that all of our players and support staff are in these centers, we have a very clear set of protocols,” he said. “They are business continuity measures to ensure that if there are situations and restrictions around the borders, we can give ourselves the best opportunity to move safely.
“If the game can be played safely [in Sydney] then we’ll play it there. That is our starting point, so we are working with the health authorities to determine it. We started by thinking about how to play the entire series as safely as possible, and will be taking the same approach in the days and weeks ahead. We have contingency plans around a wide range of different options, and we have had to be agile at all times. He encouraged us to have 17 cases yesterday and 10 today, and we will see how it develops in the next 72 hours. “
Tickets for the SCG test were still on sale as of Friday.
Daniel Brettig is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. @danbrettig
.
