England’s Ashes tour is hanging in the balance after at least four members of the touring party tested positive for Covid in Melbourne.
The whole tour now seemingly rests on the results of PCR tests that will be given to both squads and their families following day two of the third Ashes Test at the MCG on Monday.
Any positive cases could spark a chain of events that see this Test, and the following two in Sydney and Hobart, called off.
Worryingly for England, their entire tour party spent Christmas Day together inside a Melbourne restaurant. If the positive cases, which include two coaches and two family members of the squad, are confirmed by PCR tests then it is highly possible the virus has spread through the camp.
More from Cricket
Play was only allowed to proceed on day two in Melbourne – half an hour late – after all of England’s players returned negative lateral flow Covid tests.
The two coaches in question and a third deemed a close contact, along with two players – Craig Overton and Stuart Broad – did not travel to the MCG.
England initially confirmed just one positive case in the team’s “family group” 67 minutes before the scheduled start of play.
However, a later statement from Cricket Australia confirmed: “Cricket Australia has been informed that two members of the England Cricket Team’s support staff and two of their family members have returned a positive Covid-19 Rapid Antigen Test. The affected individuals are currently isolating.
“The entire playing group and all other support staff have undertaken Rapid Antigen Tests this morning and all have tested negative. The England Cricket team will also have PCR tests today, and both teams will take extra precautions throughout play. Both playing squads remain unchanged.”
i understands several other family members are also showing Covid symptoms, suggesting Covid has spread in the camp.
Even if all the players return negative PCR tests, the spectre of tighter Covid restrictions and a return to a hard bio-bubble could still see the tour abandoned.
This Ashes series has been blighted by the shadow of the pandemic right from the very start, when several players cast doubt about whether they would travel to Australia if restrictive bubbles were put in place.
But with the Omicron variant surging in Melbourne and Sydney – Australia’s two biggest cities – more restrictions are now inevitable as Cricket Australia attempts to salvage the series and avoid a multi-million dollar loss.
Nick Hockley, Cricket Australia’s CEO, has suggested both teams may now be confined to a hard bubble for that match. “In Sydney we have an exclusive property for the playing group and we’re flying there by charter,” he said. “Everyone now is on high alert, everyone is being extra cautious. It’s ultimately about common sense, so if these rapid antigen tests do convert into PCR positives we’ve already isolated these people and it’s about minimising the risk of any further spread.”
Only 11 days ago Australia captain Pat Cummins was forced to miss the second Test in Adelaide after he was identified as a positive Covid contact on the eve of that match.
Restrictions in Victoria, where this third Test is being played, are not as strict yet if this had happened in Sydney, where next week’s fourth Test is taking place, the match would probably have been abandoned as close contacts of Covid cases must isolate for seven days. In Tasmania, where the final Test is scheduled to be played, that goes up to 14 days.
England’s players might be reluctant to travel to Sydney if they know the whole squad could be forced to isolate for a week if a situation similar to what occurred in Melbourne were to be repeated. The nightmare scenario in Hobart must now surely put the location of that Test in severe doubt – if indeed the series is still going by then.
Both teams were already barred from eating indoors, having haircuts and close contact with fans in Melbourne. But England were given dispensation to eat indoors on Christmas Day. That might turn out to be a “superspreader event” that has torpedoed this Ashes series.
Credit: Source link
