Sport

CRICKET

Burst bio-bubble could end England tour to South Africa

Cricket South Africa Director of Cricket Graeme Smith. (Photo: Bertram Malgas / Gallo Images)

England’s short tour to South Africa could be called off after the first One-Day International was cancelled on Sunday.

Two members of staff and two members of the England touring party, staying at the plush Cape Town hotel where South Africa and England are based, tested positive for Covid-19 on Saturday. 

As a result, the three-match One-Day International (ODI) series could be called off as this was the third known breach of the supposedly biosecure (bio-bubble) environment. 

Within an hour of announcing the delayed start in Paarl on Sunday, the match was abandoned. The result is that the entire tour, which was scheduled to end on Wednesday, could finish without a ball bowled in the ODI series. 

The first ODI, which had originally been scheduled for Newlands on Friday, was delayed because of a positive Covid-19 test in the Proteas camp. That match was postponed to Sunday. But after Sunday’s cancellation, whether the two remaining matches go ahead is up in the air as the spread of the outbreak is still being investigated. 

“Following the test results, two members of the England touring party have returned unconfirmed positive tests for Covid-19,” CSA said in a statement on Sunday. “The players and management are now self-isolating in their rooms until further advice from the medical teams.” 

On Thursday an unnamed member of the Proteas squad returned a positive test, which ultimately led to the postponement of the first ODI. That incident created tension between the sides as there was concern from the England Cricket Board (ECB) that South Africa’s players had compromised the integrity of the bio-bubble.

That situation was denied by South Africa’s management, and on Sunday Cricket South Africa (CSA) director of cricket Graeme Smith tried to smooth relations.

“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. With that in mind, we have made the joint decision to cancel today’s match.  

“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.” 

Ashley Giles, managing director of England Men’s Cricket, said: “We regret that we are unable to play in today’s ODI, but the welfare of the players and support staff is our primary concern and whilst we await the results of further tests the medical advice from both teams was that this game should not take place. 

“We remain in constant dialogue with Cricket South Africa and will continue to work closely with them to determine how best to move forward.” 

Increased acrimony 

It appears that behind the scenes the situation is becoming acrimonious, with fingers being pointed at who was to blame for breaching the bubble. After last Friday’s postponement, CSA’s chief medical officer, Dr Shuaib Manjra, said England had expressed concern about a breach of the bio-bubble by the Proteas. 

“There is a cause for concern and England has expressed a concern. England are questioning the confidence they have in the bio-secure environment and rightfully so,” Manjra said in a video message. 

“If there has been a player who tested positive in the last week, they have cause for concern and we respect that concern. We met with the English medical team and we have planned out a way.

“This test surprised us because we have confidence in the integrity of the biosecure environment. Further tests indicate that this is a more recent case that occurred within the bio-secure environment. 

“So, clearly there seems to be some kind of breach, which we have investigated in great detail to try and determine where this happened. 

“We have traversed a couple of different spaces, trying to recount some of the events: speaking to the players, looking at security cameras, looking at other information and we haven’t been able to date to identify where the source was, but clearly it’s cause for concern.” 

The Vineyard Hotel, where both teams are staying, issued a statement on Sunday, explaining its role in the situation. 

“The Vineyard Hotel can confirm that two staff members tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday 4 December following routine testing after the positive test of a cricket player on Thursday 3 December,” said Roy Davies, general manager of The Vineyard. 

“All remaining staff working and living in the biosecure area were tested on Saturday 5 December and all of them returned negative results on Sunday 6 December. 

“At this stage, it is not clear how the two staff members became infected as neither have left the biosecure area since 16 November and they do not work on the same team or in the same zone area. Our Covid response team is endeavouring to establish all the facts and contact tracing is under way.  

“Our number one priority is the safety and wellbeing of our staff and guests and we have placed all our resources and efforts into investigating and resolving the situation. 

“Those infected are isolated in on-site apartments outside the biosecure area some distance from the hotel, which have been kept sterilised and available for this purpose.” 

The new normal 

If the ODI series is abandoned CSA could lose up to R30-million in much-needed broadcast revenue. 

Events of the past 72 hours have also created concern over the remainder of the summer’s tours. Sri Lanka and Australia are due to tour over the next 10 weeks and they will need firm assurances that biosecure breaches in Cape Town were not through lack of planning or implementation. 

As the investigations continue, the reality and difficulties of playing sport and touring in a Covid-19 world are being made apparent. With dozens of players, support, hotel and security staff all being kept under lock and key, breaches are a possibility. 

“I’m convinced that 99% of the time this environment is working,” Manjra said. “There may be a breach that’s unbeknown to us and may have caused this positive test. So, I’m not saying there’s a zero risk. There may be a slight risk which we cannot mitigate. There’s a lot of moving parts in a tour such as this, and we’re trying to control that.” 

It’s that 1% risk that may keep touring teams away. That is something CSA simply can’t afford. DM

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