Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
TESTING TIME
Summer tours behind closed doors in the balance with a lot of steps still to be taken
ENGLAND’S proposed international summer behind closed doors is on a “tightrope” with lots of work still to do before games are guaranteed.
The West Indies are due to arrive in the UK to play three Tests in July, with Ireland and Pakistan set to follow.
And while the Windies and Pakistan hope to bring in extended squads, a number of issues remain before everyone is ready to sign off on the tours – not least the Government.
“There is still a long way to go before this tour becomes a reality,” said West Indies chief executive Johnny Grave. “It is a bit of a tightrope because a lot of people need to be satisfied with what is being proposed and it is a process that would be no different if it was England coming here.”
It is understood Windies players are broadly positive to touring with skipper Jason Holder saying: “Each player has to be comfortable in making the step. It has been made clear that if we are to hop on a plane to go over to England and play, then it must be safe.
“The only way the tour will possibly go ahead is if everyone can be comfortable with the measures the ECB put in place to roll the cricket out.”
So what might things look like for the players this summer? Dates and venues are still to be confirmed, but on
June 6 the West Indies players and staff are due to be tested for Covid-19.
Assuming all results are negative, players will board charter flights on June 10 from their home islands to Antigua than take a chartered transatlantic flight to Gatwick.
Having prepared for the World Cup at the Ageas Bowl, this would be the preferred ‘bio-secure’ venue for them to stay at and train for a month before the first Test at the same ground.
England players are due to meet as a squad at Old Trafford on June 24, the second ‘bio-secure’ venue set to host the second and third Tests.
The squads will be kept apart for as long as possible before the first Test when they will share facilities. The First Test between England and the West Indies is set for July 8 and from July 3 both squads will be based at Ageas Bowl in separate parts of the on-site hotel.
The stadium will be split into an inner zone for players and officials and an outer zone for media with no-one permitted to move between the two.