SA-Eng ODI postponed after player after Covid positive

Cape Town: The first one-day international between South Africa and England at Newlands was called off just an hour before the start of play on Friday after a member of the home team’s squad tested positive for Covid-19.

Both squads underwent their latest round of testing on Thursday and, following the emergence of a positive result among the South Africa squad, a decision was made to move the start of the three-match series to Sunday in Paarl.

The second match will now be staged on Monday before the final fixture on Wednesday, both of which are due to take place at Newlands. It represents the third positive test result among the 24-man South Africa squad since the start of the tour.

A statement from Cricket South Africa read: “CSA and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) would like to announce the postponement of the first Betway One-Day International (ODI) of the three-match series to Sunday, 06 December 2020.

This decision results from a player from the Proteas team testing positive for Covid-19 after the teams’ last round of scheduled testing performed on Thursday ahead of the ODIs.