The next two ODIs of Australia’s ongoing tour of the Caribbean have been rescheduled by Cricket West Indies (CWI) after a COVID-19 positive test of one non-playing member of the home team’s staff threatened to jeopardise the series.
A cloud of uncertainty was hovering over the final two ICC Super Leagues fixtures on Aussies’ trip following the suspension of the second ODI on Thursday (July 22) only minutes before the play was to kick off.
Wary of any closed contacts with the staff member and viral spread through both teams’ camp, the CWI had asked players to remain in isolation and order thorough testing of everyone part of the bubble.
The board has now confirmed that all of the 152 individuals who were tested have turned out negative, which allows for the resumption of the series on Saturday (July 24 as per West Indies time), followed by the final one-dayer on Monday (July 26) in Barbados.
We want to thank our counterparts at CA for their cooperation in this matter as we look to get the games going again. Special thanks to our CEO Johnny Grave, Chairman of Cricket Australia, Earl Eddings, his CEO Nick Hockley along with our respective medical and operations teams.
said CWI president Ricky Skerrit in a media release, thanking his board’s Australia counterparts for their support.
It has been a challenging two days and we have worked very swiftly and safely, following all the established medical protocols, to make sure that all necessary precautions are in place to ensure that we can go ahead to resume play safely, tomorrow. We will continue to monitor the situation and respond accordingly.
The swift resumption of Australia’s ODI series against the West Indies is positive news for their forthcoming tour of Bangladesh as well. There was a chance the Aussies may have had to postpone or cancel their T20I series in Dhaka if the situation had worsened in the Caribbean and they were forced to enter another extensive and strict quarantine in Barbados. But they can now go ahead with their Bangladesh trip on time, albeit after a late departure from the West Indies.
For West Indies, however, the late end to the Australian series means a quicker than expected turnaround for the Pakistan series at home. The first game of the five-match T20I series against the Asian giants is now set to take place only a day after the final ODI against Australia.
