New Zealand's Amelia Kerr Isolated After Testing Covid-19 Positive On Arrival To England For CWG 2022

New Zealand women’s team spin bowling all-rounder Amelia Kerr tested positive while travelling to England for the upcoming Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022, starting on July 28.

The 21-year-old player returned positive for Covid-19 after a round of Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) was conducted on Saturday and following the result, Kerr was isolated from the rest of the White Ferns squad at the team hotel.

Amelia Kerr tests positive for Covid-19

A New Zealand Cricket (NZC) statement said that Kerr was the only player from the visiting group to test positive for the contagious virus, with the rest of the contingent will be continuously monitored and tested as required.

The New Zealand women’s squad along with staff members travelled from Lincoln to England on July 12. The White Ferns are paired with South Africa, England and Sri Lanka in the Group B of the Commonwealth Games 2022 initial round.

They start their first match of the tournament against South Africa on July 30 at Edgbaston in Birmingham. But, first, they will have a week of training at Millfield School in Somerset, including two practice games against England A.

New Zealand to aim at Commonwealth Games 2022

Kerr has been an integral part of the New Zealand side since making her debut in 2016, she has represented the White Ferns in 53 ODIs and 42 T20I matches. She was also part of the Sophie Devine-led team that featured in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2022 on home soil. She amassed 201 runs in seven innings at 33.50 in the marquee event.

New Zealand failed to qualify for the semi-final round after three wins and four defeats in the league stage and finished sixth in the points table. In the wake of the failure, Australia’s Ben Sawyer replaced head coach Bob Carter in the role of the New Zealand women’s national team.

Women’s cricket will feature at the Commonwealth Games for the first time in the upcoming CWG 2022. It would be the second instance of cricket being held at this stage after the men’s ODI competition was staged back in 1998 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. South Africa won the only edition of the Commonwealth Games in men’s cricket.

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