England’s Test captain Joe Root is very optimistic about his playing the five-day format cricket in the 2020 home season amid the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID 19) crisis.
He further said that England is ready to go into isolation for more than two months to save the home Test series against West Indies and Pakistan this summer. The Test captain is ready to miss the birth of his second child for a return to live cricket action in the COVID-19 hit country.
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Entire Great Britain is under lockdown due to the deadly outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in the England and Wales Cricket Board suspended all forms of the game until July 1 at the earliest.
A three-match Test series against the West Indies scheduled for June has been postponed while Pakistan was due to visit later in a season has now been delayed as well.
After the ECB chief executive Tom Harrison stunned all by revealing that a totally wiped out season could cost the board 380 million pounds ($469 million), England is planning to host some lucrative matches at home without crowds in order to escape from complete cancellation of home summer.
Root told Sky Sports, “I’m optimistic about it. It would be a real shame if doesn’t happen. The public is desperate for some live sport and the guys are missing it.”
The star batter continued, “The players would be sectioned off in one part of the hotel and would be in isolation together. There would be no interaction with the media, the TV crews, or even the opposition when off the pitch. We would have separate lunchrooms. It would have a different feel to it but it’s probably manageable. Hopefully, that is the case.”
It is being said that a squad of up to 30 players could be chosen for the six Tests at the Ageas Bowl and Old Trafford from 8 July, but there is no guarantee that West Indies will accept the proposals, given the fact that the UK is the most afflicted by COVID-19 in Europe and Root said: “We have just tried to present the likely environment to see if it’s a possibility for them‚”
The England captain also said the public is desperate for live sports action amid the global health crisis, adding: “I think a number of people are desperate to see live sport back on telly (television) and the guys are all very much missing playing and would love to get back out there.”
Praising the recent input of ECB medics, Root said: “Safety is paramount and we need to make sure everyone involved is absolutely safe. I'm sure the discussions will progress and we'll get more information and get closer and closer to cricket being back on and international cricket being played.”
Stressing the need for England to be “flexible” in this testing time that could “drastically change” in the coming weeks, the skipper said, “we've got to find safe ways of getting out of the bubble.”
Root signed off by saying, “For me, that'd be, would I be able to get to the birth, would I then be in isolation for two weeks, would I be able to be tested coming back into the bubble? Who knows exactly what that'll look like -- they're discussions to be had in the coming weeks. We'll have to clear up and make sure things are tightly secure so there's no chance of people getting ill or unwell.”
(With Sky Sports Inputs)
