Cricket Australia’s wild COVID-19 demand

Details for the upcoming Test series between Australia and South Africa are yet to be finalised, but Cricket Australia is reportedly set to make a wild demand regarding the biosecurity protocols.

South Africa has endured a tumultuous second wave of COVID-19 this summer, recording thousands of new cases every day throughout December.

Multiple fixtures during England’s recent tour of South Africa were postponed after several players and hotel staff tested positive for the virus.

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As reported by The Daily Telegraph, CA will demand hotel staff in South Africa quarantine for three weeks before the Test squad arrives to ensure the biosecurity bubble is safe.

Pat Cummins of Australia celebrates taking the wicket of Cheteshwar Pujara.Source:Getty Images

“We’re doing everything we can to give the tour every chance to be successful and to get away,” Cricket Australia’s high performance boss Ben Oliver told reporters on Wednesday afternoon.

“There are a number of fairly significant challenges in running international sport during a pandemic.

“We’re been fortunate here in Australia to have relatively low cases of COVID, but we know in South Africa, they’re unfortunately experiencing a second wave of this virus.

“We’re working hard with Cricket South Africa to establish all of the protocols that would sit around the environment in which the teams would need to operate.

“We’re working hard with our own authorities here on making sure we’ve got clear and safe passage going into and out of South Africa.

“They’re a couple of the key considerations of the tour that we need to work through. We’ll obviously keep the health and safety of our players, staff and community at the absolute forefront of our minds.”

Australia’s David Warner and Steve Smith.Source:AFP

The Australian Test side has not toured South Africa since the infamous ball-tampering saga in early 2018.

On Wednesday, the national selection panel announced a 19-man squad for next month’s Test series, with middle-order batsman Matthew Wade brutally axed from the side.

South Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey and Queensland paceman Mark Steketee were the surprise additions to the Test squad, while Usman Khawaja once again missed out.

Australia needs to win the three-match series for any chance of qualifying for the World Test Championship Final, which also largely depends on the outcome of the England vs India series.

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