South African cricketers test negative for COVID-19; ODI series to start on Sunday

After the three-match T20I series, England and South Africa were all set to lock horns against each other in the first One-day International of the three-match series on Friday (December 4). However, the game had to be aborted after a South African player tested positive for the novel coronavirus hours before the match commenced.

This raised fear among the authorities and players regarding the spread of the virus in the South Africa contingent. However, all the speculations are put to rest by Cricket South Africa as they announced that all the players including the support staff have tested negative for Covid-19 in the latest round of Tests and are eligible to take the field against England.

“Cricket South Africa is pleased to announce that the entire Proteas team has returned negative results from the COVID-19 tests that were conducted yesterday evening in Cape Town,” a release from CSA stated.

Thus the two teams will be up against each other in the first One-day International on Sunday, December 6 at Boland Park, Paarl. Also, the second ODI which was originally scheduled to be played on Sunday has now been rescheduled to Monday, December 7 while the final game of the tour will take place on Wednesday (December 9).

CSA didn’t disclose the name of the infected player

Ahead of the first ODI on Friday, both CSA and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had released a combined statement revealing the news of rescheduling of the first ODI owing to a South African player testing positive for the virus.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) and the England Cricket Board (ECB) would like to announce the postponement of the first Betway One-Day International (ODI) of the three-match series to Sunday, 06 December 2020. This decision results from a player from the Proteas team testing positive for COVID-19 after the teams’ last round of scheduled testing performed on Thursday ahead of the ODIs.

“In the interests of the safety and well-being of both teams, match officials and all involved in the match, the Acting CEO of CSA, Kugandrie Govender as well as the CEO of the ECB, Tom Harrison, have agreed to postpone the first fixture to Sunday,” the statement had read.

Meanwhile, CSA didn’t reveal the name of the player who had tested positive for the virus. Notably, this is the third instance when a South African player had tested positive for Covid-19. Ahead of the T20I series, two players had pulled out of the tour due to them returning positive results.