England hopeful Moeen’s Covid diagnosis won’t spark outbreak
ENGLAND are crossing their fingers that they have avoided a wider Covid-19 outbreak after Moeen Ali’s positive test cast an early shadow on their tour of Sri Lanka.
The full squad were given a clean bill of health prior to departure and again after quick turnaround testing on arrival in Hambantota on Sunday, only for the more sophisticated PCR process to show Moeen was carrying the virus.
He will now self-isolate for a 10-day period up to January 13 — the day before the first Test in Galle — with Chris Woakes advised to do likewise for a minimum seven days after being identified as a ‘close contact’ of Moeen’s.
England will hope the strict measures in place on the trip have been successful in preventing further infection, with the touring party hosed down with disinfectant spray after disembarking their charter flight and then kept in solitary quarantine in the Shangri La Hotel for the past 48 hours.
That restriction is due to be lifted today, pending a further batch of tests, but plans for the team to begin training have been delayed until tomorrow at the earliest.
Should Moeen remain the only impacted player, Joe Root’s men would be able to pick up their plans with only a minor delay and a reduced spin department. Further infections would present an altogether more difficult equation.
England have been forced to abandon their last two international assignments due to the pandemic — the original Sri Lanka series back in March and last month’s white-ball trip to South Africa, where a spate of positive results derailed the ODI leg.
Two English representatives received ‘false positives’ during the latter, but those came from less sophisticated lateral flow tests and there no suspicion of an incorrect diagnosis where Moeen is concerned.
The ECB will transport the 33-year-old from the current team hotel to a private establishment in Galle today, meaning he would theoretically be available to line up in the first Test the day after his isolation window ends.
That seems a tenuous proposition, though, meaning Dom Bess and Jack Leach can now be all but certain of their places.
Whether England promote one of the three slow bowlers currently travelling with them on standby — Mason Crane, Amar Virdi or Matt Parkinson — remains to be seen.