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The alert is for a section of the Great Southern Stand on December 27 and it has led to further measures for the Sydney Test

Daniel Brettig06-Jan-2021Victorian health officials have called for an entire zone of spectators in the MCG’s Great Southern Stand come forward for testing and quarantine amid fears that a mystery case of Covid-19 may have acquired the virus on the second day of the Boxing Day Test.The case, a man in his 30s who also shopped at Chadstone Shopping Centre in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs on Boxing Day, was seated in Zone 5 of the MCG under its covid-safe protocols – likely entering the ground through gates five or six – between 12.30pm and 3.30pm on December 27, before developing Covid-19 symptoms on January 5.As a result of this case, the New South Wales government has made the wearing of masks mandatory at all times for the crowd at the SCG Test except when eating and drinking although the game will continue with a crowd at 25% capacity. Anyone who attended the MCG at the date and time of the alert is banned from attending the Sydney Test. There had already been a ban on people attending from certain suburbs of Sydney based on the outbreaks in the city.”Based on the information available from the case, the man in his 30s, was not infectious while at the sites, but there is potential he acquired the virus while there,” the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement. “The man developed symptoms on 30 December and the department was notified of his positive test on 5 January. Given he has not visited any high-risk Victorian exposure sites or travelled to New South Wales, a number of acquisition sources are being investigated.”The man was present at the MCG on 27 December, the second day of the Boxing Day test and is currently isolating. He was not infectious when he attended and is not linked to any other case or to the Black Rock Restaurant Outbreak. The MCG is being investigated as a potential source for the infection.Health authorities asked for anyone who had been present in the affected zone of the MCG to get tested. “We’re encouraging anyone who was in The Great Southern Stand, zone 5 of the MCG between 12.30pm and 3.30pm on 27 December, to get tested and isolate until they receive a negative result.”A Covid-safe event plan was in place for the match and the ticketing allocation system in place has enabled effective contact tracing. The venue also utilised the Victorian Government’s QR code system in an additional measure to support contact tracing.”The department is working with Melbourne Cricket Club to contact ticket holders in the relevant area directly and to ensure that all relevant public health actions have been undertaken.”Announcing the updated masks requirement for the SCG, NSW health minister Brad Hazzard said: “From the moment effectively you get into the transport to get there, and get into the queue at the front door of the SCG, and go to your seat, and sit in the your seat, you must wear a mask.”The only exception to that [is] if you’re eating or drinking. Obviously, Dr Chant and the public health team want people to enjoy a day at the cricket, but it’s a Covid day at the cricket and that means mask on, not mask off, unless you’re eating or drinking, in which case you can have your mask off.”Australia captain Tim Paine was asked whether he believed continuing the Sydney Test with even a reduced crowd was safe as cases of community transmission continued to be recorded in New South Wales, but he deferred to those with more knowledge of the situation.”It’s not really an area I can control or worry too much about. People who are in control of making these decisions [are] at government level,” Paine said. “There’s health experts, high level people at Cricket Australia and they’re all working as hard as they possibly can to do the best thing.”Obviously we want to get people in the gates, give people a chance to come in and watch international cricket and if they’re saying the safe number is 10,000 then I certainly can’t question that. Don’t have a medical background so we trust that the people who are in those positions are making the right decisions by us and the communities. We’ll go with whatever we’re told at this stage.”

Senior batsman says nothing but a series win will do in home conditions

Umar Farooq22-Jan-2021Azhar Ali, Pakistan’s senior-most batsman, has urged young players to shrug off their insecurities to give themselves the best chance to perform at home against South Africa. As many as nine uncapped players have been named in their initial squad of 20, with at least two of them likely to debut in the first Test starting January 26.For all practical purposes, this is the first time Pakistan are playing South Africa at ‘home’ since 2007-08. Azhar (83 Tests) aside, only Babar Azam (29 Tests) has had any kind of significant Test experience to speak of. Abid Ali is eight Tests old, Fawad Alam seven and Mohammad Rizwan, who captained in New Zealand, has 11 Test caps. Among the bowlers, Yasir Shah has the most experience with 43 Tests, and will do a bulk of the bowling alongside automatic pick Shaheen Afridi (13 Tests) and the returning Hasan Ali.”International cricket is always a challenge,” Azhar said. “Even if you play as a youngster or up there for long, pressure will remain for ever. But obviously for a new player it is a challenge to handle pressure and then there are insecurities in our culture around what if they are dropped.”Obviously we understand that there is a big difference between international and domestic cricket which make them a bit insecure. But as as a senior player my advise to them is to trust their skills and stick with that they are doing to do well because that is what is going to give them a best chance to performance. If you think too much that will bring negativity and hold you from doing well. So be positive and grab the opportunity.”Misbah-ul-Haq will have two more coaches in the set-up•Getty Images

Pakistan had a miserable time in New Zealand, losing both Tests comfortably while winning just the one T20I on tour. Those results, coupled with their poor returns in England and Australia, means there is going to be much scrutiny on the team as much as there will on Misbah-ul-Haq, the head coach.Azhar remains optimistic of returning to winning ways. “Home conditions bring confidence in players,” he said. “If you remember, our batsmen in previous two home series (against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh) had big chunks of runs and did really well. But on away tours, ts always tough for Asian teams. But our batsmen fought it out. In England and New Zealand there was at least one batsman who made a century.”There is a different level of pressure on away tours, but at home, everyone expects nothing less than a win. We must take the responsibility as a team to win matches at home. We will try to take this benefit [of playing at home] positively and maximise this opportunity at fullest to keep the opponent under pressure.”‘No one is undermining anyone’ – Azhar on extra coaches joining teamTo ease some load off Misbah, the PCB has added coaches from the High Performance Centre to assist the team management. Mohammad Yousuf will work alongside batting coach Younis Khan while Saqlain Mushtaq will guide the spinners. Having so much of experience in the coaching set-up comes with the risk of information overload, at times, but Azhar hopes this will onl be beneficial.”Yousuf and Younis both being in the camp isn’t undermining anyone,” Azhar said. “This is mainly for conditioning and we are taking an advantage of their experiences. Younis bhai is our main batting coach and we are lucky to have Mohammad Yousuf around as well. The Test is starting in few days and we don’t have much time either for any change in our batting (technique) but both are getting us ready for the Test.”South Africa is a very strong team especially with their bowling they are the top side. Their fast bowlers are good but then if we get a spin track, we are wary of their left-arm spinner Mahraj who he is a seasoned bowler and is playing Tests for long. He is bowling consistency well. We have to come up with our A game to compete so I believe they have everything covered in their bowling and our batting must take this challenge and score big enough for our bowlers to get them out.”

Malan, Billings, Livingstone, T Curran all land deals but Hales, Roy and Rashid go unsold

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Feb-20211:00

Moeen Ali ‘excited’ to play under Dhoni at CSK

Moeen Ali has ended a difficult week in India on an unequivocal high, after being picked up for Rs 7 crore (US$959,000) by Chennai Super Kings at the IPL auction.The price tag is almost four times the figure that Royal Challengers Bangalore (Rs 1.7 crore; US$265,000) paid for Moeen in 2018, and marks an immediate return to the tournament after he was released by RCB at the end of the 2020 season.Having entered the auction at a base price of Rs 2 crore (US$274,000), Moeen was the subject of significant interest from the newly rebranded Punjab Kings before being secured by CSK, where he will link up with his fellow England allrounder Sam Curran.CSK are in the progress of a rebuilding phase, after failing to reach the IPL play-offs for the first time in the competition’s history, and the signing of Moeen came after they had narrowly missed out on the services of his fellow spin-bowling allrounder, Glenn Maxwell, who was picked up by Moeen’s old franchise, RCB, for Rs 14.25 crore (US$1.95million)L Balaji, CSK’s bowling coach, said of the signing: “We were focusing on an allrounder and power-hitting. Moeen is a good buy. He is handy with the ball and also can bat in the top order. [Shane] Watson gave us that flexibility in the top order. Now Moeen gives us depth and the option of a dual role – [I’m] 100% sure he’ll fill in what we’re looking at.”Moeen’s IPL credentials are likely to have been enhanced by his performance in the second Test against India at the Chepauk Stadium this week, where he claimed eight wickets in the match – his first Test appearance for 18 months – then signed off with an explosive cameo of 43 from 18 balls in the final moments of India’s 317-run win.Related

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Either way, Moeen’s involvement in the tournament is a boost to his prospects of playing a major role in England’s T20 World Cup campaign, which is also due to be staged in India at the end of the year. Moeen was part of the squad that toured South Africa in December, but was left out for all three T20Is as England opted to field a single frontline spinner.Though he has been named in England’s T20I squad for their five-match series against India next month, Moeen’s departure from the Test squad this week attracted controversy when it was implied by Joe Root, England’s captain, that he had “chosen” to go home rather than compete for a place in the final two Tests, with the series currently locked at 1-1.Root subsequently apologised to Moeen, as did England’s head coach Chris Silverwood, who acknowledged that a request had been put in for Moeen to stay on tour, but that his absence from the Ahmedabad Tests had been decided by the ECB in advance, in accordance with their rest and rotation policy.Moeen played only three times in the 2020 IPL season•BCCI

The request had been put in by England as a consequence of Moeen’s disrupted winter schedule. He contracted Covid-19 on arrival in Sri Lanka in January and was required to spend a fortnight in quarantine, as a consequence of which he missed both Tests at Galle as well as England’s victory in the first Test against India in Chennai.Moeen’s reluctance to accede to England’s request stemmed in part from the prospect of him picking up a new IPL contract, which would have meant a stretch of five months away from his young family, with the tournament due to end in the first week of June.To date, Moeen has played 19 IPL games for RCB, scoring 309 runs at a strike rate of 158.46, and taking 10 wickets at an economy rate of 7.14.Moeen was the star attraction among English players in the opening rounds of the auction. Dawid Malan, ranked the world’s No. 1 T20I batsman by the ICC, was signed by Punjab Kings for Rs 150 lakh (US$204,000), while Jason Roy, Alex Hales and Adil Rashid were all unsold. Mark Wood withdrew from the auction on Wednesday.Having gone unsold initially, Sam Billings picked up a bid of RS 200 lakh (US$273,000) from Delhi Capitals. Tom Curran will join him at the franchise, after he was sold for RS 525 lakh (US$719,000) following a bidding war against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Liam Livingstone was the other Englishman picked up, returning to Rajasthan Royals for RS 75 lakh (US$102,000) after skipping the 2020 season.

The batsman is expected to make his Test debut against England after prolific limited-overs performances

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Apr-2021Devon Conway has had his New Zealand residency visa approved, which means he will be able to return to the country after the tour of England.Although eligible to play for New Zealand since last August, his residency application was still pending until a few days ago. Only citizens or residents are able to return under the government’s Covid-19 protocols so it could have caused problems for Conway touring but the doubts have now been removed.”Very positive news came through a couple of days ago that that has been granted so he is allowed to come back into the country,” New Zealand coach Gary Stead said. “We are really pleased for Devon and Kim, his partner, who have managed to get that over the line.”I guess it’s one thing that’s been on his mind that’s not there anymore. Who knows, one less thing on his mind he might score more runs.”Related

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Conway is one of three uncapped players in the New Zealand squad for the two Tests against England, which will then be trimmed to 15 names for the World Test Championship final.After a prolific ODI and T20I season it seems inevitable that Conway will make his debut against England at Lord’s in early June although there is still the tricky question of how he fits into a successful side.There may be a natural vacancy at the start of the series if Kane Williamson is still involved in the IPL but one option being considered is for Conway to open.”Tom Blundell has been the incumbent for a while with Tom Latham and has done a great job in that role, [but] I don’t think it’s his natural role though and think Tom recognises that as well so we just have to work through,” Stead said. “Devon, everyone has seen the success that he’s had, and we know he’s a fine player, it’s just working out what that looks like. Just too early to know that for certain.”While it is hard to see Conway not finding a place in the XI for New Zealand’s next Test, Stead stopped short of anointing him straightaway.”I don’t know if you can say you can’t leave [him] out because the New Zealand team has still done very well over the last wee while and Devon Conway hasn’t been part of that team,” he said. “No doubt he’s a fine player and we’ve seen every step he’s made has been a positive one. It’s not that you can’t leave him out, but he’s a fine player and we all know that.”The New Zealand squad will depart for England in two groups on May 16 and 17 following training camps in Christchurch earlier in the month. They will then be based at the Ageas Bowl, which has an on-site hotel, during the initial part of the tour.Stead confirmed that the originally planned tour match against Somerset would not take place due to issues around bio-secure bubbles and that the preparation for the Test series would include an intra-squad match with the help of some Hampshire 2nd XI players.

The players have undergone another round of testing, the results of which will be available later on Tuesday

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Apr-2021Five members of the touring South Africa Emerging Women’s side have tested positive for Covid-19 in Sylhet late on Monday before they left for Dhaka.The players have undergone another round of testing, the results of which will be available later on Tuesday. If the members return positive, they might have to stay in isolation for 14 days in Dhaka or until they are tested negative for Covid-19. The rest of the contingent, including the support staff, who have tested negative on Monday, flew out of Dhaka early on Tuesday.The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh had announced on Sunday that international flights will be suspended for a week from April 14 with the commencement of the hard lockdown in the country. As a result, the visitors had to depart early, cancelling their last game in the five-match one-day series scheduled for Tuesday. South Africa had reached Dhaka on Monday afternoon from Sylhet after playing four one-day matches against the Bangladesh Emerging Women’s team.The series, which began on April 4, was held behind closed doors in bio-secure environment due to an upsurge in Covid-19 cases. The visiting team had arrived in Bangladesh on March 29.

England captain falls short of 32nd first-class hundred, but puts Yorkshire on top at Cardiff

David Hopps15-May-2021Glamorgan 149 (Brook 3-13, Patterson 3-27) and 108 for 3 (Carlson 44*, Lloyd 40*) lead Yorkshire 230 (Root 99, Patterson 47*, Neser 5-39) by 28 runs Joe Root moved inexorably towards his hundred with the precision of a ticking clock. An old-time image for an old-time innings. The world could do much as it pleased, nothing would change his tempo. Then, on 99, the clock stopped.Root has 31 first-class hundreds, but only eight of them have come for Yorkshire. Even as a feted international player, one who bears an onerous responsibility as England’s Test captain, his desire to succeed for his county remains implanted. He would surely yearn for more.Medium-pacer Dan Douthwaite, who seamed the ball back sharply between bat and pad, was the bowler who stopped time. What’s more, Douthwaite revealed, his teammate, Kiran Carlson, predicted it.”It was weird how it happened,” Douthwaite said. “Kiran Carlson stood at mid-off two balls before and said I was going to get him out trying to dab it down to third man and he would chop it on to the stumps and he did. I was telling him at the time to go away and let me focus on my bowling. That is the first time I have had someone predict a wicket and it has actually happened.”If Root didn’t quite manage the century that had seemed inevitable, he looked in good trim ahead of the New Zealand Test series. His superbly controlled innings gave Yorkshire a chance of victory. That’s if you don’t believe in weather forecasts – Sunday’s analysis suggests that these sides will be collecting draw points.England’s IPL contingent have spent much of the past fortnight in quarantine while the likes of Root have benefited from an extensive programme of Championship cricket, albeit played in empty stadiums and in largely cheerless conditions. It has not been a cakewalk. Remove his century against Kent at Canterbury and he had made 114 runs in seven innings. That rediscovered rhythm had been hard-won.That Root’s success has been far from automatic illustrates that bowlers have held sway and also points to the difficulties that even the most driven world-class player encounters when the prestige of a fixture diminishes and the pressure relents. Nevertheless, it also tells that this season’s Conference structure has not been a succession of mismatches that many anticipated. It is a format that is gaining popularity and makes the structure for 2022 a debate still to be won and lost.Related

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Glamorgan, down 81 on first innings, and seeded fifth out of six in Group One, might have capitulated when the Australian, Marnus Labuschagne, was bowled for a duck in an awkward 26-over finish to the day, but David Lloyd and Carlson played with typical freedom in slightly easing conditions in giving them a lead of 27 runs with seven wickets remaining at the close. Carlson’s batting approach does not suffer from modesty and, with his 23rd birthday hours away, he looked to be a player worth keeping an eye on.Not that Root defied Glamorgan single-handedly in giving Yorkshire that 81-run lead. At 111 for 8, they were imperilled, still 39 behind in seamer-friendly conditions. For a top-order batsman, eight-down often demands a rethink. Root observed his captain, Steven Patterson, and recognised a mulishness that demanded respect. Between them, another 118 were added in 33 overs. The match shifted.Root was accomplished, his innings stripped down to basics and all risks against the moving ball kept to a minimum. Patterson existed on defiance and an occasional square cut that he delivered with a flourish. He was far from rhythmic: if he had been a ticking clock, nobody would have had a clue what time it was. He survived a tough chance to backward point before he had scored, took several blows to the body and stubbornly insisted on his right to stick around. But his commitment was exemplary and he also deserved – and missed – his own statistical landmark, a fifth first-class 50, when he was left stranded on 47.Glamorgan’s tactics were strange. The Australian, Michael Neser, who had 3 for 15 overnight, soon had a five-for, including the frisky debutant wicketkeeper, Harry Duke, who was treated to a bouncer first ball, took it on, and spliced a catch to square leg. (First-ball duck or not, we will hear more of Duke). But Neser only bowled eight overs all day and must surely have a niggle.Michael Hogan, the other senior strike bowler, spent the day bowling into the wind. The next bouncer of note to the ninth-wicket pair was delivered by Labuschagne, a part-time legspinner, and it disappeared for four byes. Andrew Salter had a spell of off-spin more out of respect than logic. Like Dom Bess, an England offspinner in Yorkshire’s side, he would have been better rendered idle.Root survived a strong leg-before appeal from Timm van der Gugten on 87, but otherwise picked out singles at will. His late cut to third man – the one where he might be picking his own pocket – would have had Fagin singing with delight. But, with Root on 99, Douthwaite cut Patterson in half with a big break-back that went for four byes. The warning was there. Root did not play the shot, but he might have anticipated it. His stumps were disturbed and Douthwaite gestured in triumph towards Carlson at mid off as if he had known the plan would work all along.

Dockrell is averaging 101.28 since Ireland’s inter-provincial competition gained List A status in 2017

Matt Roller01-Jun-2021George Dockrell’s Instagram bio reads: “If I were right-handed, I probably wouldn’t have a job.” There is some logic amid the self-deprecation: left-handers are hugely over-represented in international cricket compared to the wider population on account of their scarcity value and, in the case of left-arm fingerspinners like Dockrell, their ability to spin the ball away from right-hand batters.It is a good line, but one he is on track to delete from his profile. While his bowling returns have tailed off, he has been a revelation with the bat. A No. 10 or 11 for the first five years of his international career, Dockrell has become the most consistent batter in Irish limited-overs cricket, winning a recall to the ODI squad to face Netherlands in three World Cup Super League fixtures this week as a batting allrounder. Since Ireland’s inter-provincial competition gained List A status in 2017, he has scored 709 runs for Leinster Lightning in 17 innings while averaging 101.28.

Tector back after eye surgery

Wednesday’s first ODI will be Harry Tector’s first international appearance since undergoing laser eye surgery six weeks ago.
“My surgeon told me that if I didn’t have the job done in April, it wouldn’t be possible to get it done until the end of the year,” Tector, Ireland’s most promising young batter, told the .
“He told me the recovery time was four to six weeks and I trusted his judgment.
“I’d say I’m probably at 90% of where I will get to but already I’m very happy with the results.”

“It’s not something I would ever have realised was a possibility,” he told ESPNcricinfo before leaving for Utrecht. “It feels absolutely fantastic, and like a real appreciation for the work I’ve put in. I was an opening batter for the Irish Under-13s and that was my first skill – through underage stuff, I’d have considered myself an allrounder. But once I made my debut, I didn’t give it much focus for a few years.”In my last couple of years playing county cricket at Somerset, it was really tough getting into the side and I realised that I needed to have a bit more about me in terms of my batting and my fielding.Related

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“My bowling hasn’t exactly kicked on the way I’d have liked from my early career, but I’ve been able to keep putting my hand up with the bat. I got a couple of ODI fifties against Afghanistan, and this season, with the restructuring as to how the squads are selected domestically [several of Leinster’s top batters have moved to other provinces] that’s allowed me to get up into one of those batting spots at No. 5.”Dockrell, Ireland’s third-highest wicket-taker in ODIs, was the ICC’s associate player of the year in 2012 and is perhaps best known for trapping Sachin Tendulkar lbw in the 2011 World Cup when just 18. But his performances with the ball have stagnated in recent years to the extent that he lost both his spot in the Ireland team and, at the end of last year, his central contract.Having also been dropped for the tour to the UAE in January and then declining the opportunity to tour Bangladesh in the spring with the Wolves – which is the Ireland A side – due to concerns about travelling mid-pandemic, Dockrell has had a flying start to the season with four fifties and an unbeaten hundred in five Inter-Pro innings.His form led Andy Balbirnie, Ireland’s captain, to mention him in the same sentence as Steven Smith while commentating on a Wolves fixture earlier this month, and while Dockrell laughs off the comparison, he sees it as vindication on his investment.”I’d be pretty happy with that [comparison],” he said. “Coming through at Somerset I used to live with Lewis Gregory for four or five years. He came in as a batter and is now a bowler, really, but you can see he’s incredibly talented and has that foundation. There are lots of people who can make that transition.”This is my 11th year as a professional and that has allowed me so much time working on my batting. I’ve been lucky that I’ve been involved for that long and that I’ve been able to keep chipping away – and that coaches have helped me even when I was batting at No. 9 or 10 and adding very little value. I guess it proves it’s worth it down the line.”Dockrell also attributes his form this season with the fact that he is now balancing cricket with work commitments, allowing him to throw his energy into the limited opportunities he has to train and play. While he is on a retainer contract with Cricket Ireland after losing his central contract at the end of last year, he has also been interning as a technology consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in the third year of his data science degree at Dublin City University.”They’ve been fantastic in supporting me through it,” Dockrell said. “In terms of timing, it wasn’t the worst: there’s obviously more of a focus on that now and a little less time on the cricket. That’s maybe taken a bit of the weight away from my cricket and means that when I’m there, I’m fully enjoying it – and maybe a little bit more driven when I do get the opportunity to play.”I’ve done a lot of work on my batting with Pete Johnston [the Wolves coach] and Nigel Jones [the Lightning coach] at Leinster Lightning, but a huge part of it is the mental side of my game: being more prepared and being incredibly clear about what I want to do when I’m batting. When you’re working through the week and you know you have your one day off to play, you’re absolutely going to make the most of that as best you can.”In the series against Netherlands, who are without several first-choice players due to county commitments, Dockrell is set to balance the side as a batting allrounder at No. 5, with both Curtis Campher and Gareth Delany ruled out through injury.”Having that ability to turn the ball away from the right-handers is always useful,” he said. “I’m still working away at my bowling and I quite enjoy the balance now of less pressure on it, and seeing it as something I can add to the team. I’d like to put my hand up for a batting spot, but I’ve never been fussy: I think I’ve batted every position from No. 6-11 for Ireland and if there’s an opportunity to go a little bit higher, I’d be delighted.”And as for his Instagram bio? “I might have to delete that if things go well this year. That’d be a lovely place to get to. Maybe this time next year I can get rid of it.”

There are chances that Sri Lanka may have to field a second-string side against India because of the virus

Andrew Fidel Fernando09-Jul-2021Sri Lanka men’s team analyst GT Niroshan has tested positive for Covid-19, one day after batting coach Grant Flower had also tested positive, forcing Sri Lanka Cricket to consider the option of fielding a second-string side against India.Both Flower and Niroshan have been moved to intermediate care facilities.What is especially worrying for the team’s doctors is that both men have contracted the Delta variant of the virus, which is particularly contagious as well as dangerous. The Sri Lanka squad was expected to come out of isolation and enter the team’s bio-bubble on Friday, but will now be forced to spend at least two more days in isolation, and face another RT-PCR test, the results of which will determine whether the main squad can viably play the series against India.SLC does have a contingency plan in place, however. They have two other groups of players in bio-bubbles – one in Colombo, and one in Dambulla – who could potentially step up to play the series against the second-string India squad that has been preparing for the limited-overs series, whose ODI leg is scheduled to start on Tuesday.A member of Sri Lanka’s medical staff said it was “too early to say” if the main squad is out of commission for the series. Sri Lanka’s medical staff believes the two support staff members who have tested positive so far were infected while they were in England.The India squad in Sri Lanka have so far had a relatively uneventful lead up to the series, but the disarray in Sri Lanka’s camp has been worrying for the hosts. Already, Sri Lanka were expected to play the India series under a new captain – Dasun Shanaka – who was appointed in controversial circumstances. This latest news, and the possibility that the top-flight team may not take the field at all, raises questions not just about whether Sri Lanka can be competitive in the series, but also about the broadcast value of such a series.India are due to play three ODIs and three T20s, all in Colombo’s Khettarama stadium, with no crowd in attendance.

England batter hits second fifty in four Blast innings after Glamorgan slump to 104 all out

ECB Reporters' Network01-Jul-2021Dan Lawrence produced his second Vitality Blast fifty of the season to set up Essex Eagles’ painless eight-wicket victory over a depleted Glamorgan.Essex were only chasing 105 after an all-round frugal bowling and fielding display stunted the visitors, who had four key players unavailable.But Lawrence took charge of the chase with 55 off 31 balls, after a 70-run stand with Adam Wheater, to make sure the Eagles cantered to the victory line with 46 balls to spare.The victory handed Essex their fourth win in their last five Blast matches to keep alive their hopes of regaining the trophy, while all but extinguishing Glamorgan’s chances of a place in the knockouts.Related

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Glamorgan won the toss, decided to bat but never looked like scoring a big total on a slow hybrid pitch for the fifth time. In mitigation, Nick Selman, Marnus Labuschagne and Michael Neser were already absent due to Covid isolation before Prem Sisodiya was forced to pull out in the warm-ups.Kiran Carlson began the revolving door when his wristy flick was caught on the square leg boundary by Michael Pepper as Jack Plom began with a wicket maiden.South African Colin Ingram was bowled off his pads by Dan Lawrence and Plom produced a stunning piece of fielding to directly hit from the fine leg boundary to see off David Lloyd.Chris Cooke and Billy Root added an innings high 37 for the fourth wicket before the former thrashed to extra cover and the latter picked Pepper at long-on.Ryan ten Doeschate celebrates with Simon Harmer•Getty Images

Dan Douthwaite feathered Aron Nijjar behind and James Weighell flumped to long-off, where Pepper claimed his third catch of the innings.The last three wickets fell in the 16th over Sam Cook had Sam Pearce inside edging behind and Roman Walker lbw either side of a Ryan ten Doeschate direct hit.Wheater made sure the chase was as comfortable on the pitch as it looked on paper, thumping the third ball of the innings over mid-on to the boundary.He lost opening partner Will Buttleman leg-before to Walker but continued his march with successive boundaries – giving himself a bit of space to carve a drive through the covers before cutting off his tip-toes.Lawrence wasn’t at his fluent best, dropped on 11 and 15, but composed himself with a rocket cut and a straight six – the latter bringing up the 50 run partnership.Wheater was stumped on 39 but Lawrence, who thumped two more maximums to bring up his half-century in 30 deliveries, and Pepper made sure there were no more hiccups – with the former striking the winning boundary.

Eight close contacts of the allrounder, most of them players, are also in isolation

Nagraj Gollapudi27-Jul-2021Krunal Pandya has tested positive for Covid-19, forcing the second T20I between Sri Lanka and India, scheduled for Tuesday evening, to be pushed back by a day.Pandya’s positive test result came not too long before the scheduled start of play – 8pm local time – and eight other members of the Indian contingent have so far been identified as Pandya’s close contacts and asked to isolate in their hotel rooms.It is understood that Pandya complained of a sore throat on Tuesday morning, after which the Indian medical staff asked him to take the rapid antigen test, which came out positive. It is also understood that Pandya also underwent the RT-PCR test, globally recognised as the gold standard in Covid-19 testing, and that came out positive too.Related

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BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in a media release that the entire Indian squad would also undergo the RT-PCR test to “ascertain any further outbreak” in their camp. The BCCI did not identify the eight people who had been asked to isolate along with Pandya, but a board official told PTI that the majority of those were players. “The reports (of today’s tests) will come in the evening (around 6pm) and if everyone is in the clear, we can have the match on Wednesday. Maximum among the eight close contacts who are also in mandatory isolation are players.”It could not be confirmed how long Pandya and the eight others are going to be in isolation, but one person privy to the discussions in the camp said that the period would be determined based on the strain of Covid-19 in question.There are no reports of positive results among the Sri Lankans, who are scheduled to be tested next on Wednesday morning.Professor Arjuna de Silva, who overseas SLC’s bubble protocols for international tours, told ESPNcricinfo that it remained a mystery as to how Pandya could have contracted Covid-19, as there have been no reports of the bubble being broken, nor any other significant irregularities. The series has been played behind closed doors and both teams have been operating out of a bio-secure bubble with their movements restricted to only the team hotel and the ground.The India team has a hotel – the Taj Samudra – to themselves, and even the staff working in the hotel are essentially in the bubble, and undergo frequent testing. de Silva said that no one else, including staff, had tested positive so far.Prithvi Shaw and Suryakumar Yadav were scheduled to leave for England immediately after the Sri Lanka series•Getty Images

This is the second time Covid-19 has forced Sri Lanka Cricket to tweak the itinerary of the six-match series. The ODI series was originally meant to commence on July 13, but had to be pushed to July 18 after a few positive cases emerged in the Sri Lankan group.This is also the second time in the last week that an international match has been postponed because of a positive Covid-19 test: the second West Indies vs Australia ODI in Barbados had to be postponed after the toss had been conducted because a non-playing member in the West Indies camp had tested positive.As things stand, the second and third Sri Lanka T20Is will now be played back-to-back on Wednesday and Thursday. Though Pandya and some other players are likely to be unavailable for the last two games following the latest developments, India have enough back-up to field an XI, as they have travelled with an expanded squad of 20, plus five reserve bowlers.Though the series will end on schedule despite the postponement, the Indian team’s return home, slotted for Thursday, is likely to be delayed. The development is also set to impact plans for Prithvi Shaw and Suryakumar Yadav, the two batters who were selected to join the Indian Test squad in England. Shaw and Yadav were scheduled to travel to England at the end of the tour of Sri Lanka.India, who earlier won the three-match ODI series 2-1 – despite being in Sri Lanka with a squad missing many first-choice players, who are in England to play a five-Test series in August-September – are 1-0 up in the T20I series following their 38-run win in the first fixture.