Only 2 positive tests: Vast majority of the Proteas will be at their work station
The vast majority of the Proteas will be at their work station and ready to perform come Boxing Day and the first Test against Sri Lanka after testing before they enter their bubble in Centurion revealed that only two members of the 19-man squad are Covid-positive.
South Africa’s Test squad was expanded on Friday with the addition of three players in fit-again all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius, prolific Knights batsman Raynard van Tonder and promising fast bowler Lutho Sipamla, following a Covid scare in domestic cricket that has seen four Dolphins players and one from the Imperial Lions contract the virus.
The squad will enter their bio-bubble at the Irene Country Club on Saturday and the series with Sri Lanka is very much still on, with the tourists arriving on Friday evening, despite rather alarmist reports suggesting 10 of the Proteas squad were exposed to Covid and the Tests were in doubt.
While it is believed the two Proteas who are positive for Covid picked it up in the last round of domestic four-day matches, the chances of their opponents being infected with the virus are very small. With all the protocols in place for domestic cricket, the two teams have very little contact with each other and the internationals playing for the Titans and the Knights (the opponents of the Dolphins and Lions respectively) should not have been exposed to the pathogen.
A CSA statement released on Friday afternoon confirmed the two positives and said that no other players were deemed close contacts after contact tracing procedures were conducted.
Given the late additions to the squad, it is possible that a batsman and an all-rounder or pace bowler from the Dolphins and/or Lions have come down with Covid. But that still leaves the South African team with 17 players to choose from for the two Tests against Sri Lanka over the festive season.
CSA have, however, postponed the sixth round of four-day matches that were due to start on Sunday, with chief medical officer Dr Shuaib Manjra saying this had less to do with the Proteas than with the wellbeing of the franchise players.
“The Proteas were not the primary consideration behind this decision. Although there is very little contact between the teams, we have had one game called off and a close shave in another and so far from a safety and precautionary standpoint we decided to postpone. This second wave could be worse in terms of numbers because there is no Lockdown,” Manjra told The Citizen on Friday.
Full Proteas squad – Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Raynard van Tonder, Faf du Plessis, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock, Kyle Verreynne, Dwaine Pretorius, Anrich Nortje, Glenton Stuurman, Lungi Ngidi, Rassie van der Dussen, Keshav Maharaj, Migael Pretorius, Lutho Sipamla, Wiaan Mulder, Beuran Hendricks, Keegan Petersen, Sarel Erwee.