CSA to follow England plans
SA cricket CEO and doctor are in contact with England events director Elworthy in their quest to be ready to host India in August
Hopes are fading that India’s financially critical visit to SA for three T20 Internationals will take place as originally agreed in late August but the good news is that the short tour remains on the Proteas’ playing schedule and could take place in March 2021.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Saurav Ganguly and Cricket SA (CSA) director of cricket Graeme Smith agreed in February to play the series and the former Indian captain has no intention of reneging on his commitment and disappointing his one-time adversary whom he now regards as a friend.
“We are still hoping to play the series in late August or early September and we are working towards that but, like everybody else around the world, we have a contingency plan, said CSA CEO Jacques Faul on”Monday.
“The top priority, before anything, is to work with Sascoc [South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee] and the minister of sport to make sure they are satisfied with our plans to play again,” Faul said.
Faul and the CSA medical team, headed by Shuaib Manjra, are closely following developments in England where former SA all rounder Steve Elworthy is the England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) events director. They are now finalising plans for both the West Indies and Pakistan to play three-Test series in “bio-secure bubbles” with strictly controlled entrance and exit strategies for up to 250 people.
“That is the model we will be using as well so we have been working closely with Steve and the ECB and sharing as much information and experience as possible. It’s good to have a South African in charge there,” said Faul.
When Elworthy first considered the project his estimate was that about 500 people would be required to “run” a Test match, but some judicious quantity surveying has since seen than number revised down to “between 180 and 250“, all of whom would need to be tested before entering the “bubble”.
Regular screening including thermal scanning and questionnaires would take place, as well as deep cleaning and sanitising of all communal areas.
Within the bubble people would be restricted to colourcoded zones, meaning, for example, that the television production team would not share common space with the players and match officials.
The two venues to be used for the Test matches, Old Trafford in Manchester and the Ageas Bowl outside Southampton, have five-star hotels on the boundary’s edge.
All essential staff who necessarily “shared surfaces” with those in the bubble would have to stay in the hotel full-time — for up to a month.
“The zoning is really to reduce the interactions or the crossover of people in the inner core or in the green zone,” Elworthy said. “That would be your players, match officials and the field of play. There would be a second zone on the outside.”
Elworthy said it was unrealistic to expect everyone to stay locked down for a month and that exceptions would have to be made. “Clearly, the more people you have in and out of the bubble, the weaker the bubble is, but at the same time, there are going to be circumstances when people will need to leave.
“I absolutely get that. We will make sure that the protocols around leaving the bubble and coming back into the bubble are in the shortest period of time but in the most safe and secure way possible.”
Faul and Manjra will need to replicate the operation if there is any chance of India arriving and playing in August. The players would certainly need to complete their 14-day quarantine period in India before boarding a chartered aeroplane and landing, possibly, at Lanseria or even Waterkloof. They could then be taken straight to Senwes Park in Potchefstroom, the most suitable venue in the country with its excellent facilities and on-site accommodation.
“The quarantine period is the biggest problem,” said Faul. “Obviously you can’t have a team coming here for three games in five days and having to spend two weeks in quarantine either side of them.”
CSA will present its detailed plans for a return to playing to sports minister Nathi Mthethwa later this week and will hope for clarity on the way forward for the India tour.
In the meantime, the Proteas players will return to training in small groups, initially, before their first squad gathering towards the end of June.
Bio-secure playing environments are unlikely to be a shortterm requirement — they may easily be around for a year — with gradual, incremental easing of restrictions to allow a limited number of spectators.
CSA knows this and, if ministerial approval is given this week, Senwes Park could start undergoing its transformation as early as next week. From what I hear, we could even be seeing some winter cricket on our TVs by the first week of July with a series of exhibition matches.
Plans are afoot. All subject to medical approval, of course.