Covid chaos as two of England camp test positive

ENGLAND’S cricketers were last night in isolation in their rooms at their Cape Town hotel as the ill-fated south africa tour was plunged into more Covid-19 chaos. The fragility of staging international cricket in biosecure bubbles was laid bare yesterday when a second attempt to begin this 50-over series was abandoned after it was revealed two staff members at the hotel housing both teams had tested positive. England were then given news that two members of their own party were positive in the new round of testing ordered on saturday. The only hope of any more cricket taking place rests with England’s attempt to prove the unusually high readings of their two positives mean the results are false. Those results were last night being verified in london at the request of England team doctor Moiz Moghal, with the affected duo, believed to be a player and one of the coaches, showing no virus symptoms. If they are confirmed as positive today, any hopes of a shortened series before England leave for home on Thursday would be over. ‘We regret we are unable to play in today’s ODI but the welfare of the players and support staff is our primary concern,’ said England team director ashley giles (right) in a statement. ‘We remain in constant dialogue with Cricket south africa and will continue to work closely with them to determine how best to move forward.’ What should have been the 50-over international rescheduled from Friday until today was officially called off last night, leaving just tomorrow and Wednesday as potential match days. The Englishmen affected face the prospect of being forced to stay beyond Thursday’s departure date as they would have to isolate for at least 10 days before being allowed to leave the country. last night security staff were examining CCTV footage of the Vineyard Hotel to see if any other players or management had been in close contact with the pair and would have to isolate further. The probable abandonment of the tour is a huge blow to a south africa board who can ill-afford to lose the £1.5million in broadcasting revenue, mainly provided by sky TV, that was due for the remaining three matches. south africa may insist no protocols have been broken by their players or hotel staff, but there have been significant concerns within England’s camp about what are described as unorthodox biosecure arrangements. England are due to visit sri lanka in January and India in February and the ECB will have to be sure the safety of players and management can be guaranteed.