ENGLAND TOUR ON A KNIFE EDGE
ENGLAND Cricket Board chief executive Tom Harrison is facing the intricate task of trying to convince his England team to remain in South Africa to complete the one-day international leg of their tour.
The ECB and Cricket SA called off the first ODI in Paarl yesterday after two hotel staff members tested positive for Covid-19. Independent Media understands the second ODI set for Newlands today has also now been postponed, leaving the future of the entire tour on a knife edge.
The tourists were engaged in a tense meeting with management yesterday afternoon to decide whether the tour would be completed.
As a precautionary measure, the England players and management underwent an additional round of PCR tests on Saturday evening. Following the test results, two members of the touring party returned unconfirmed positives. The players and management are now self-isolating in their rooms until further advice
The English medical team have since retested the two players through rapid testing mechanisms and the results have returned negative. They have, though, insisted that the two squad members test again today, which has led to postponement of the second ODI.
While Harrison is extremely sympathetic towards his players’ welfare and safety in regards to the risk Covid-19 poses, he understands the significance of cancelling the ODI leg of the tour altogether.
The six-match tour, which included the completed three-game T20 segment, is understood to be worth $4.2-million (about R63m) to Cricket SA. Harrison was in a similar precarious position earlier this year with the ECB losing almost £100m due to Covid-19.
“The entire cricket network has pulled together to get us through this challenge so far and overcoming it will mean continuing to work in partnership and continuing to make tough decisions as we have done this year,” Harrison said back in September.
The England players have become increasingly wary of the integrity of the bio-secure environment at the Vineyard Hotel after a South African player tested positive just two days after the squads moved into the hotel.
This was after a first player tested positive prior to entering the Vineyard on November 18, after which he was accommodated separately from the rest.
A third South African player tested positive last Friday which caused the most concern among the tourists, particularly the English contingent set to fly off to Australia for the Big Bash after the scheduled conclusion of the tour on Wednesday.
The Australian government has enforced a two-week quarantine period that will see Jason Roy, Liam Livingstone (both Perth Scorchers), Lewis Gregory (Brisbane Heat) and Tom Curran (Sydney Sixers) possibly miss the first three BBL games of the season.
Cricket SA Director of Cricket Graeme Smith, though, remained hopeful yesterday that the remaining two matches of the ODI series will be played after the testing has been completed.
"CSA is doing everything in our power to ensure that our top priority, which is the health, safety and welfare of players, support staff and all involved in this series is safeguarded," Smith said in a statement.
"We are deeply regretful of this situation given the amount of time and energy that has been put in place to host a successful tour. We will continue to give the England team all the support that they need. We are in continuous talks with the ECB as we navigate the situation under the guidance of our combined medical teams."