First ODI Between South Africa And England Called Off
Published - 04 Dec 2020, 04:40 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:37 AM
The first ODI between South Africa and England has been called off for Covid-related reasons just hours before its start. The first ODI of the three-match series was scheduled to be played at Newlands on Friday.
However, the game will not go ahead as scheduled, Cricket South Africa (CSA) confirmed. The news of cancellation of the game started filtering through just more than two hours before the scheduled start. The match was scheduled to start today at 4.30 pm IST.
CSA, in a statement, confirmed that the match has been called off after one South Africa player tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday. The board, however, did not name the player. The match will now take place on Sunday.
“This decision results from a player from the Proteas team testing positive for COVID-19 after the teams’ last round of scheduled testing performed on Thursday ahead of the ODIs,” a CSA media release said.
“In the interests of the safety and well-being of both teams, match officials and all involved in the match, the Acting CEO of CSA, Kugandrie Govender as well as the CEO of the ECB, Tom Harrison, have agreed to postpone the first fixture to Sunday.”
The second and third ODIs in Cape Town are set to follow on Monday and Wednesday. Both the teams recently played a three-match T20I series which concluded earlier this week. England had whitewashed the hosts in the series.
