Cricket Australia denied on Wednesday it was only interested in lucrative series against India and England after scrapping next month’s Tes...
Cricket Australia denied on Wednesday it was only interested in lucrative series against India and England after scrapping next month’s Test tour to South Africa over coronavirus fears.
The withdrawal drew a sharp response from Cricket South Africa, which expressed frustration at the “eleventh hour” decision despite extensive work to establish bio-secure bubbles for the tourists.
CA interim chief executive Nick Hockley described the pull out as “heartbreaking”, insisting the Covid-19 situation in South Africa gave the Australians no choice.
“We share their disappointment, we’ve all worked to make this tour happen,” he told reporters.
“At the end of the day, the weight of medical advice and our duty of care to players and staff meant we were really left with no alternative.”
South Africa is the worst-hit country on the continent, with 1.5 million detected infections and more than 44,000 fatalities.
Hockley said CA had offered to host the series in Australia, where the virus is largely contained, but scheduling clashes and the need to quarantine meant it was not feasible for the South Africans. He hoped the three-match series could be rescheduled but said no arrangements had yet been made.
Australia has also dropped series against the West Indies, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and New Zealand since the pandemic hit.
Yet they recently hosted a money-spinning...
