England see South Africa tour axed by Covid cases

ENGLAND’S tour of South Africa has been abandoned “to ensure the mental and physical health” of both sides following concerns over a coronavirus outbreak at the teams’ shared base.

The inevitable conclusion was reached by the respective boards after three failed attempts to get the one-day series up and running, with scheduled matches being scrapped three times in the past four days.

Concerns over the integrity of the so-called ‘bio-secure environment’ at the five-star Vineyard Hotel in Newlands have been growing over the past.fortnight, and the rising incidence of positive cases, up to seven in total, ended any hopes of further cricket being played.

One Proteas player tested positive after the Twenty20 series, leading to an initial postponement of the first ODI, but the news that two unnamed members of the touring party had also received ‘unconfirmed positives’ alongside two members of hotel staff raised the alarm levels.

England’s medical team asked for independent analysis of their samples having suspected potential ‘false positives’ from the pair, who are both understood to be asymptomatic. If verified, the duo may now be forced to remain in the hotel until a mandatory 10-day quarantine is over — with anyone classified as a “close contact” also facing the prospect of remaining in the country while others travel home.

England’s previous overseas assignment, a two-test trip to Sri Lanka in March, also ended with the tourists leaving early as the pandemic began to wreak havoc with the global sporting calendar.