COVID-19: Domestic match in SA called off after player tests positive
Dec 14, 2020
Centurion [South Africa], December 14 : A domestic four-day match between Titans and Dolphins -- featuring six cricketers who are part of South Africa's squad for the Sri Lanka series -- has been called off before the second day's play after a Dolphins player tested positive for coronavirus.
The Titans and the Dolphins were in action at the SuperSport Park in Centurion. Both sides will now be tested to know if a specific cricketer needs to be quarantined.
"Our domestic cricket has not been played in a big bubble, which is similar to many other tournaments around the world such as county cricket, but we have strict Covid-19 [safety] protocols which we adhere to," ESPNcricinfo quoted Cricket South Africa's chief medical officer Shuaib Manjra as saying.
"We will test all the Dolphins players to determine if they need to quarantine in Centurion before returning to Durban, and we will test the Titans players as well. We have got a number of players in the Proteas squad," he added.
Last week, the three-match ODI series between South Africa and England was postponed after some positive COVID-19 cases were reported. However, Manjra is confident that the positive coronavirus cases won't have any impact on the Test series against Sri Lanka scheduled to begin on December 26.
"I don't think it will have an impact on the Sri Lanka series but we will have to wait to make a decision," said Manjra.
The Sri Lanka men's team will leave for South Africa as scheduled but head coach Mickey Arthur, accompanied by a health specialist will travel with immediate effect to South Africa to further assess the situation and make necessary arrangements for the team's arrival.
The first Test will be played from December 26 in Centurion while the second match is scheduled to begin on January 3 in Johannesburg.
