In what can be termed as a surprising development, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed that 3 players and 4 support staff members of the England team have tested positive for COVID-19 following the PCR tests administered yesterday (Monday) in Bristol.
The remaining members of the squad have all been deemed close contacts and will isolate from July 4.
Meanwhile, the white-ball series against Pakistan will go as scheduled with Ben Stokes taking over the captaincy from Eoin Morgan and leading a revised squad in the ODI and T20I series, which will be named shortly.
Tom Harrison, Chief Executive Officer, commented: ‘‘we have been mindful that the emergence of the Delta variant, along with our move away from the stringent enforcement of biosecure environments, could increase the chances of an outbreak. We made a strategic choice to try to adapt protocols, in order to support the overall wellbeing of our players and management staff who have spent much of the last 14 months living in very restricted conditions.”
“Overnight we have worked swiftly to identify a new squad, and we are grateful to Ben Stokes who will return to England duties to Captain. We also recognize the impact this news will have on our First Class Counties and their Men’s playing squads and thank them, along with our partners Sky and Royal London, for their ongoing support in dealing with this pandemic,” he added.
(ecb.co.uk inputs)
