Pakistan say tour is on despite TEN corona positives
PAKISTAN were last night insisting their tour of England will still go ahead even though another seven players tested positive for coronavirus, taking the total to 10.
The chances of England being able to stage a second biosecure Test series later this summer to follow the visit of West Indies appeared to suffer a major setback when Pakistan yesterday announced a significant cluster of positive tests.
But their English chief executive, Wasim Khan, insisted that the show will go on and he is adamant the remaining players and support staff, who have tested negative, will leave as scheduled on an ECB charter flight for Manchester on Sunday.
‘The tour to England is very much still on track and the squad will depart on schedule,’ said Wasim in a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) statement.
‘We will continue to monitor and support the players who have tested positive, and as soon as they are negative they will be flown to join the rest of the squad in England.
‘They have been advised to go into self-isolation so they not only recover quickly but also prevent their other family members becoming affected.’
It is commendable of Wasim to remain so determined to play the series, which is due to start at Emirates Old Trafford on August 4 with the first of three Tests, but there must still be huge concerns over whether it will eventually take place.
The players who were yesterday found to be positive — Fakhar Zaman, Imran Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan and Wahab Riaz — were all asymptomatic, as were the three found to be positive on Monday in Haider Ali, Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan.
It is in Pakistan’s favour that the virus appears to have hit mainly white-ball specialists in the squad who are due to play matches after the Test series, with only Rizwan of those affected a first choice red-ball player.
But there remain a number of hurdles for them to overcome, not least another round of testing for all those found negative before Pakistan can leave Lahore and with two players in Shoaib Malik and Waqar Younis, plus physio Cliffe Deacon, still to be tested at all. Sportsmail earlier revealed Pakistan had brought forward their departure to England, which is being funded by ECB, because of the wave of Covid-19 cases sweeping through their country and the surrounding region.
Both the ECB and PCB want to get the majority of the players to England as quickly as possible, with Pakistan now planning to head to Worcester and then Derby for their quarantine and training camp when they get here, to try to avoid more disruption.
‘Fortunately all the red-ball squad, barring Mohammad Rizwan, are negative which means they can start training and practising immediately after they have been tested and given the allclear on arrival in England,’ said Wasim. ‘In the meantime, coach Misbah-ul-Haq is reviewing our training schedule in England and firming up plans for reserve players to be tested as a back-up.’
His mood was reflected by England team director Ashley Giles on the day Joe Root and a 30-man training group headed to Southampton to ‘live’ and prepare at the Ageas Bowl for the first Test against West Indies on July 8.
‘It’s a concern, mostly for the welfare of the Pakistan players who have tested positive, but at the moment I don’t think the series is in doubt,’ said Giles before news emerged of the seven additional positive tests.
‘We’re far enough away from the Test series to not worry about that too much at the moment. We’re hopeful that the Pakistan team will be arriving soon.’
Giles admitted that there are no formal contingency plans but there is a possible solution in the form of Ireland, who are due in England for three one- day internationals in Southampton.
‘We have to be agile and adapt to any new situation we face,’ added Giles. ‘We would look at that if Pakistan couldn’t come.’