The Bob Willis Trophy encounter between Gloucestershire and Northamptonshire was called-off on Sunday (September 6) after a non-playing member of Northamptonshire's squad was confirmed to have tested COVID-19 positive.
Inadvertently, the English county first-class encounter was abandoned due to the threat of further viral spread.
According to a report by AFP, "The players took lunch at the expected time of 12.30 pm (1130 GMT) but an unexplained delay to the restart was announced and it took an hour until the umpires, captains and ground manager were seen on the field."
"Umpire Jeremy Lloyds lifted a stump to signify the end of the Bob Willis Trophy match."
Later, the two teams released a joint statement to confirm the first-of-its-kind conclusion to a cricket match.
"In the interests of player welfare, it has been agreed between Gloucestershire, Northamptonshire and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) that the Bob Willis Trophy match, currently being played at the Bristol County Ground, has been abandoned," the statement said.
"Just before lunch of the first session of play, it came to light that a member of the Northamptonshire playing squad has tested positive for Covid-19."
"Although the player was not part of the group that travelled with the squad to Bristol (and has been self-isolating at home), further members of the Northamptonshire squad have been in contact with the player within 48 hours of the player developing Covid-19 symptoms."
In a response of its own, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said, "the health and safety of the players, staff and officials is the first priority of the ECB and first-class counties".
Northamptonshire will be extremely disappointed as the incident deprived them the opportunity to take further strides in an effort to win in Bristol, as they had left Gloucestershire reeling at 66/6 in the first innings.
The Bob Willis Trophy is being played in the memory of former England pacer Bob Willis, who died late last year, and has been arranged as an interim replacement of the usual County Championship, whose season was affected by the pandemic.
(Inputs from AFP)
