Blacks Caps start to arrive in England to prepare for tour
WELLINGTON: The Black Caps started arriving in London yesterday to begin their biosecure tour of England before the ICC World Test Championship final against India, New Zealand Cricket said yesterday.
Most of the test squad and staff had been transferred to hotel quarantine in Southampton where they will warm up for the twotest series against England.
‘‘The first three days will be spent in hotelroom isolation, before mini training groups of six can be established from days four to six, pending negative Covid results,’’ NZC said.
Tim Southee, BJ Watling, Ross Taylor and Neil Wagner departed Auckland later yesterday to join the squad in Southampton.
Captain Kane Williamson and other players and staff involved in the suspended Indian Premier League were also expected to arrive in England yesterday after flying out of the Maldives.
After a successful stint with English county side Durham, batsman Will Young was also expected to link up with the team yesterday and undergo isolation at Southampton’s Ageas Bowl before joining his teammates for training.
Pace spearhead Trent Boult will join the group later after spending some time with family, NZC added.
The Black Caps play their first test against England at Lord’s from June 2 before the second in Birmingham from June 10.
The Black Caps then face India in the World Test Championship final in Southampton from June 18.
Separately, most of Australia’s IPL cricketers arrived in Sydney in a charter plane yesterday after passing a week in the Maldives waiting for border restrictions to be lifted.
They will spend a fortnight in mandatory hotel quarantine.
Australia lifted a twoweek ban on its citizens returning from Covid-ravaged India last week.
Meanwhile, Jofra Archer has been ruled out of next month’s test series against New Zealand because of his longstanding elbow injury, plunging his availability for England’s hectic upcoming schedule into serious doubt.
The 26yearold fast bowler returned to action for Sussex in last week’s County Championship match against Kent, his first competitive appearance since undergoing surgery at the end of March to remove a piece of glass from his hand.
But he bowled only five overs in the visiting side’s second innings at Hove.
The England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed Archer would not feature in the squad to face the Black Caps, saying he was ‘‘suffering from pain in his right elbow when bowling’’. — Reuters/BPA
SYDNEY: Former captain Michael Clarke has tipped further fuel on a reignited debate about Australia’s sandpaper scandal, claiming it is obvious that others outside the shamed trio knew about the illegal plot.
Cameron Bancroft’s recent comment that Australian bowlers’ knowledge of the sandpaper ploy is ‘‘selfexplanatory’’ sent shockwaves throughout cricket circles.
The integrity team at Cricket Australia has contacted Bancroft, offering him a chance to report any new information, but is yet to hear back.
Bancroft was issued a ninemonth ban by CA in
2018 for his role in the saga, having used sandpaper on the ball before stuffing the evidence down his pants during a test in Cape Town.
Skipper Steve Smith and vicecaptain David Warner were stripped of their leadership titles and given yearlong suspensions.
CA’s formal investigation cleared everybody else in the touring party of any wrongdoing or knowledge of the illegal plot.
Questions about that finding have lingered since but rarely been asked publicly during recent years.
Australia’s firstchoice attack of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon played in that infamous test.
Clarke, who retired in 2015, cast fresh doubt on the notion that bowlers could have been in the dark about the plan to cheat.
‘‘They’ve got to hold the ball to bowl,’’ Big Sports Breakfast host Clarke said on his morning radio programme.
‘‘If you are playing sport at the highest level you know your tools that good, it’s not funny.
‘‘Can you imagine that ball being thrown back to the bowler and the bowler not knowing about it? Please.
‘‘I love how the articles in the paper are ‘it is such a big surprise’ . . . what’s the surprise?’’
Clarke said CA had a problem because ‘‘they’ve tried to sweep it under the carpet and not come out and tell the full story’’.
CA highperformance boss Ben Oliver, whose predecessor Pat Howard was dispatched to South Africa to help the organisation find answers about the cheating scandal, claimed yesterday it had been ‘‘a thorough investigation’’.
‘‘Our integrity team have reached out to Cam, again extending the invitation to him if he does have any new information,’’ Oliver said.
‘‘We’ve extended that invitation and reminded him about that opportunity if he does have any new information, in addition to what his input was into the original investigation.
‘‘There is an avenue for him to do that. Likewise for others if they do feel they have any new information.
‘‘We haven’t had a response, but in saying that we’re operating on different time zones.’’