Coronavirus concerns see Tour cancelled
CRICKET CHRIS OSTICK
LANCASHIRE have cancelled their pre-season tour due to fears over the coronavirus.
The club were due to fly to Dubai for four days next Tuesday and then on to Potchefstroom in South Africa until April 1 to put the final touches to preparations ahead of the new campaign.
However, after taking advice from relevant health authorities, the ECB and the Professional Cricketers’
Association, the Red Rose have decided not to travel.
Lancashire have already been to Mumbai on a weeklong training camp this year and have a three-day game against Durham MCC Universities at Emirates Old Trafford the week before the start of the season.
Although the cancellation will mean less time out in the middle for the players ahead of the new Specsavers County Championship campaign, head coach Glen Chapple believes his squad will be ready for the new season.
“This winter has been excellent,” he said.
“We’ve had a lot of players at home. We’ve got 17 or 18 at home at the moment which is more than normal.
“We’ve also had players on representative tours and playing in other parts of the world which is great for their experience.
“But the work we’ve done indoors and away from Emirates Old Trafford has also gone really well.
“We went to Mumbai in February and spent a week there.
“That was an intense training camp for the players where we played on some turning surfaces, but also just being outdoors in good heat, we got a lot of volume in.
“We did that much work over there that we were ready to play the season when we came home.
“The players worked so hard over the course of the week and we were lucky enough to have trained at some world-class facilities.”
Lancashire players have taken extra precautions around Emirates Old Trafford due to the virus, and Chapple revealed the fear that they may by stuck in quarantine in either Dubai or South Africa was one of the key factors in the decision to cancel the trip.
He said: “The coronavirus issue has crept up fairly late in the day, so we’re now looking at alternative plans.
“It’s something all teams will be having to take on board. We have to listen to advice and that’s what we’ve done.
“South Africa isn’t one of the most affected areas, but the challenges faced by teams travelling together and being in hotels together, we have decided it would be better to stay at home and give everyone the best chance to stay fit and be ready to play.
“You could end up with 25 of you quarantined abroad and then you might have to do the same when you get back. You’re then not ready to start the season because you’ve had four weeks of inactivity. That’s why we decided it was best avoided, particularly with the start to the season so close now.
“I’m more than confident we’ll be ready come April 12 when we take on Kent at Emirates Old Trafford.”