England Test plans up in air as Curran self-isolates
ENGLISH cricket was crossing its fingers last night after allrounder Sam Curran went into self-isolation and underwent a Covid-19 test following a bout of vomiting and diarrhoea inside the team bubble at the Ageas Bowl. Curran’s health was said to have improved by the evening, but a positive result today would jeopardise England’s preparations for next week’s first Test against West Indies, who have been notified of the development. The ECB were tight-lipped about the wider ramifications of a positive result, though Curran himself will begin seven days of quarantine, while the next round of testing — currently set for Sunday — will almost certainly be brought forward. All 29 squad members, plus the backroom staff, have been tested three times each since entering Southampton’s biosecure set-up on June 23. Sources remain hopeful Curran
has succumbed to nothing more serious than a 24-hour bug. But the repercussions of a positive result — with teammates forced into self-isolation less than a week before the start of the first Test on Wednesday, and inevitable questions about the viability of biosecure sport during a pandemic — do not bear thinking about. The news overshadowed the second day of England’s practice match, though Somerset off-spinner Dom Bess made his case for inclusion against West Indies with figures of 20-6-60-2 as Ben Stokes’s team were bowled out for 233 in reply to Jos Buttler XI’s total of 287 for five declared. Bess, 22, who has played just four Tests, was England’s first-choice spinner during their 3-1 win in South Africa earlier this year and he insisted: ‘I want to push that spot and make it my own. The ball came out of my hand really nicely.’ Kent’s Zak Crawley top-scored with 43 on a sluggish pitch. Stokes scored an attractive 41, including hitting Bess for six over extra cover, before he was stumped off Lancashire leg-spinner Matt Parkinson. Mark Wood bowled with pace and hostility, while Sussex seamer Ollie Robinson produced a probing spell of 9-4-7-2. Meanwhile, West Indies captain Jason Holder continued to struggle with the bat when he was dismissed for just two during his team’s rain-affected practice match in Manchester. Holder, who promoted himself to opener in a bid to spend time in the middle, has now scored seven runs in three innings ahead of next week’s first Test. He was watched by coach Phil Simmons, back in the team bubble following five days in self-isolation after he attended a funeral.