Cricket Australia (CA) airlifted its players on Tuesday and shifted to a safe place. CA moved players from Western Australia, Tasmania and Queensland to New South Wales (Sydney), shifting them to the series against India. The CA told ESPN Cricinfo that the decision was taken to remove any obstruction in the series against India due to COVID19.
According to ESPN Cricinfo, players such as Australian Test captain Tim Paine, Matthew Wade, Marnus Labuschen, Joe Burns, Michael Nasser, Mitchell Swepson, Cameron Green, Travis Head and Kane Richardson were airlifted. All these players were shifted to New South Wales.
Australian Players Shifted to Coffs Harbour
Western Australia, Tasmania and Queensland sealed their borders on Monday due to rising cases of corona in South Australia. CA also shifted players from several teams including the Big Bash League team Adelaide Strikers and South Australia to Coffs Harbor in New South Wales.
Cricket Australia’s interim CEO Nick Hawkley said, “We have moved many people to another place in 24 hours, taking a pro-active approach. We do not want our domestic and international schedules to be disturbed. I want to thank the players and staff for understanding the current situation. Thank you for contributing to make cricket a success in Australia.
Nick also thanked Cricket Australia officials for making quick decisions. CA has also confirmed that during the Sheffield Shield in Adelaide last week, no domestic player visited the “hot spot” identified by the South Australian Department of Health. However, the board has also instructed all the players to conduct the COVID test.
Corona virus outbreak in Adelaide
Due to the corona in Adelaide, many states such as West Australia, Tasmania and Northern Territory sealed their borders. Also, an order was issued to quarantine all the people coming from Adelaide for 14 days from Monday. There were 4 reported cases of corona in Adelaide on Sunday. At the same time, on Monday, this figure had risen to 17. However, only 5 cases were reported on Tuesday.
Cricket Australia committed to conduct day-night test
Earlier, the board said that they are committed to conduct a pink ball test against India in Adelaide. This match on 17 December will be India’s second day-night Test match. The CA said that they were monitoring the situation and hoped that Australia would host a safe series.
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