10 of South Africa’s 16 man squad were exposed to Covid-19 during first-class matches this week. As a result, domestic cricket in the country has been halted. With South Africa stepping into the second wave of the coronavirus, Cricket South Africa stated that there will be no domestic matches until next month.
Three four-day matches were scheduled to start on Sunday. A match between Dolphins and Titans was abandoned after a single day’s play because of a Dolphins player testing positive. Five squad members were a part of that match.
A match between Eagles and Lions also saw a Covid-19 case when a Lions player tested positive on the third day of the game. However, the match was completed and another five members of the squad took part in it.
The only Test squad players who either did not play last weekend or who played in a third match not affected by Covid-19 are captain Quinton de Kock, former captain Faf du Plessis, batsmen Temba Bavuma and Kyle Verreynne, and fast bowlers Anrich Nortje and Glenton Stuurman.
South Africa is all set to host Sri Lanka at home with the first test starting at Centurion on December 26. Things are expected to go according to plan but all players will have to go through fresh tests before entering a bio-secure bubble.
According to the convener of selectors, Victor Mpitsang, the Test squad was due to assemble on Saturday.
“All the players will be tested before going into the bubble,” he said. Mpitsang also added that if medically advised, some players might have to delay joining the rest of the squad.
The decision to postpone the domestic matches was taken after taking into account the health of players, support staff, and stadium workers said CSA director of cricket Graeme Smith.
“CSA is committed to mitigating the impact of Covid-19 on the 2020/21 season, with the upcoming two-match Test series between South Africa and Sri Lanka being played in a bio-secure environment, which is a more controlled space than the domestic competition,” said Smith.
Domestic players will get a long break until the start of a domestic one-day competition, which is scheduled to start on January 8.