BBL 2021-22: Twelve Brisbane Heat Players Test COVID-19 Positive, Match Against Sydney Sixers Called Off

Twelve Brisbane Heat players on Wednesday tested positive for COVID-19 after taking the PCR test.

As a result, the match between Brisbane Heat and Sydney Sixers at the Carrara Oval in Queensland has been postponed.

Brisbane Heat to play against Melbourne Renegades on January 6

BBL organisers confirmed the postponement of the fixture between Heat and Sixers but Heat’s next game against Melbourne Renegades, scheduled on January 6, will go ahead as planned.

“The League will advise a new date for the match as soon as possible. The Heat’s game tomorrow against the Melbourne Renegades at GMHBA Stadium, Geelong, remains scheduled to go ahead. The club is working through the recruitment and testing requirements for players to take part in that match,” stated an official release.

The decision to postpone tonight’s match was the only option available: Alistaur Dobson

Cricket Australia’s General Manager of Big Bash Leagues, Alistair Dobson said it wasn’t possible for the Brisbane outfit to field the minimum number of players for their fixture against Sixers.

“We acknowledge the wholehearted efforts of the Brisbane Heat to field a team tonight. However, in the time available it was not possible for them to secure the 13 players required, hence the decision to postpone the match,” Dobson said.

“At all times the League, in consultation with our Clubs, governments, broadcasters, partners and venues have worked tirelessly to make the best decision for the whole competition based on the information available, with health and safety the top priority.

“In this instance, the decision to postpone tonight’s match was the only option available given the number of cases within the Heat squad and the inability to secure the required number of players fit to take the field,” he added.

The news comes after Melbourne Stars skipper Glenn Maxwell tested COVID-19 positive after undergoing a rapid antigen test. He joins 12 players and eight staff members in contracting the dangerous virus.

Stars had to field a depleted side in the last two games against Perth Scorchers and Melbourne Renegades as their first-choice players like Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa and Nathan Coulter-Nile were unavailable because they were kept under isolation.

Also Read: ECB Asks England White-Ball Players To Leave BBL Ahead Of West Indies Tour- Reports