On Tuesday, a sudden spike of Covid-19 cases in South Australia prompted Cricket Australia (CA) to airlift several staff members and players of the Australia squad including Australia Test captain Tim Paine, from Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania to Sydney after the three states were forced to shut their borders.
With the upcoming India tour of Australia commencing on November 27, not moving these players and staff members to Sydney immediately could hamper the series as players and staff could get stuck. “CA has taken a proactive approach and mobilized a number of people across the country over the past 24 hours to shore up our men’s domestic and international schedules,” CA’s interim chief executive Nick Hockley said.
CA is committed to host the Day/Night Test match between India and Australia at the Adelaide Oval on December 17 despite the current Covid-19 situation in South Australia. Hockley said that they will continue to monitor the situation in South Australia and the border restrictions. “We will remain agile in addressing the challenges presented by the pandemic and remain more confident than ever of hosting a safe and successful summer across all formats,” Hockley said.
Australia’s Big Bash League team Adelaide Strikers have moved their squad to New South Wales as well. Players representing other BBL franchises have also moved out of South Australia. The Strikers are not hosting any BBL matches till December 28. The first match of this year’s BBL is starting on December 10 at Hobart.
Meanwhile, Aussie speedster Kane Richardson has withdrawn from the ODI and T20I squads to be with his wife and newborn son. Cricket Australia has named Andrew Tie as his replacement.
Tie, who was a part of the Rajasthan Royals squad, flew back from the UAE after the culmination of the IPL. Richardson was supposed to feature in this year’s IPL with the Royal Challengers of Bangalore, but due to birth of his son, he had to withdraw from the T20 tournament. Richardson’s family is currently residing in Adelaide and with the present Covid situation, he chose to stay with his family.
