Netherlands vs South Africa Series Postponed Amid Covid-19 Scare

The Netherlands tour of South Africa has come to an abrupt halt following the rise of a new covid-19 variant in the African region of the world. The first ODI was washed out yesterday, and the remaining two matches have been postponed.

The virus is considered to be a fast-spreading one and has instilled fear in the minds of the players, expectedly so. They are not in the right mental state to play, and the two boards have mutually agreed to postpone the tour in its entirety.

The government will meet on Sunday to discuss the way forward. Although South Africa isn’t reporting cases at an alarming rate, the virus is expected to spread fast, which could be detrimental in every sense of the word. Speaking about the postponement, CSA’s acting CEO, Pholetsi Moseki, said:

“We are disappointed by the unfortunate situation we find ourselves in, but the comfort of all visiting teams must always be paramount. The mental well-being of players is one of CSA’s top priorities, and we respect our visitors’ position and point of view.

“CSA and KNCB will get into discussions around possibly rescheduling the tour within this cycle of the ICC Future Tours Programme ending in 2023.”

Netherlands will stay in their BSE Hotel until travel arrangements are made

Currently, the Netherlands team is holed up in South Africa since there are no flights out of the country to Amsterdam. They will continue to stay at their BSE Hotel until the return flights are arranged.

“We are saddened by these circumstances but are grateful to Cricket South Africa for their assistance and understanding of our team’s position. However, it must be made clear that the concerns are strictly over travel issues and how soon the team can get home and have nothing to do with the integrity of the Bio-Secure Environment (BSE) that CSA has successfully hosted.

“Our team has been pleased with every aspect of the organisation of the tour and have been well treated by our hosts. We have been looking forward to this series against the Proteas for some time and are keen on returning to South Africa in the near future,” the Koninklijke Nederlandse Cricket Bond (KNCB) Chairperson, Jurgen Delfos, said.

India’s tour of South Africa is also in trouble

The covid variant, termed as ‘Omicron’, has also put India‘s tour of South Africa under the clouds. It will be a huge loss for the Proteas if it gets cancelled, but the two boards are in contact over the same. For now, no final call has been taken.

India is scheduled to play three Tests, three ODIs, and four T20Is. However, because of the growing number of cases, the boards are considering maintaining strict bio-bubbles. Reports also revealed that the Indian team will be travelling, if the tour goes ahead as scheduled, via a bubble-to-bubble transfer.

The first ODI between the Netherlands and South Africa was the first game since March 2020 that was played in front of a decent crowd. However, the fans are unlikely to be allowed to enter anytime in the near future until the new variant is under control.

Also, Read – IND vs NZ 2021: Ravindra Jadeja Has Improved As A Batsman But Has Come Down As A Bowler: Kapil Dev