Fresh Covid concerns hit England’s preparations in Sydney

ENGLAND’S preparations for the fourth Ashes Test fell victim to more Covid chaos yesterday, with local net bowlers removed from their latest training session on the same day head coach Chris Silverwood joined the growing ranks of positive cases.

Silverwood has been isolating with his family in Melbourne since one of them tested positive after the Boxing Day Test and a further case in their group takes the total number among the wider England party to nine.

Silverwood, who will aim to rejoin the squad for the series finale in Hobart, is the fourth member of the coaching staff to contract the virus, joining bowling lead Jon Lewis, spin mentor Jeetan Patel and strength and conditioning specialist Darren Veness.

That left Silverwood’s assistant Graham Thorpe to lead a threadbare backroom team in the squad’s first practice session at the SCG, alongside temporary consultants Ant Botha and James Foster, and it was not long before that began to go off the rails too.

As is standard, England’s batters were being put through their paces by club cricketers – a widely-used policy that allows lengthier sessions without imposing unreasonable workloads on the Test bowlers. But the net bowlers were asked to leave after 40 minutes after one of them returned a positive test.

In the absence of bowling reserves, England persevered without the cavalry, with captain Joe Root at one stage seen helping out with the side-arm “dog stick” – a tool coaches use to artificially recreate high pace bowling for long periods. Other members of the extended support staff such as communications and medical workers also chipped in, helping perform drills and operate training equipment.

Former one-day captain Adam Hollioake had been drafted in to bolster the backroom team but, in keeping with an increasingly luckless trip, he was identified as a close contact after driving more than 500 miles from his home on the Gold Coast. He will now isolate at the team hotel without touching base with the squad.

Only one player on either side has tested positive – Australia’s Travis Head – but there remains a high sense of alert about further spread inside both camps.

Meanwhile, six England players participating in the KFC Big Bash League will return to the UK this week to ensure they are ready for the T20 international series against the West Indies.

Sam Billings (Sydney Thunder), George Garton (Adelaide Strikers), Tymal Mills (Perth Scorchers), Reece Topley (Melbourne Renegades), Saqib Mahmood (Sydney Thunder) and James Vince (Sydney Sixers) will all fly home by Friday amid a surge in positive coronavirus cases among BBL squads.

The players will leave Australia early in order to adhere to safe-living guidelines before flying out to Barbados this month for a five-match series that runs from January 22 to 30.