Australia scrap
Ag AFP
MELBOURNE: Australia pulled out of their Test cricket tour to South Africa Tuesday citing an “unacceptable” risk to players with the coronavirus rampant in the country.
Justin Langer’s men were due to play three Tests against the Proteas, and Australia named their squad last week with the intent to fly out this month.
But the situation became untenable with the outbreak in South Africa accelerated by a new variant said to be more contagious than earlier strains of the virus.
With almost 1.5 million detected infections and more than 44,000 fatalities, it has the highest number of cases and deaths on the continent.
Australia postpone SA Test tour due to high Covid-19 risk
AFP
Australia postpone SA Test tour due to high Covid-19 risk / Photo: Cricket Australia
Cricket Australia on Tuesday put off the three-match Test tour to South Africa scheduled for March citing a high risk to players with the coronavirus rampant in the country.
While Australia even named their Test squad last week with intent to fly, the recent outbreak in South Africa accelerated by a new variant made them change their plans.
The country has the highest number of cases and death in the continent with almost 1.5 million detected infections and more than 44,000 fatalities.
Highlights
Cricket Australia on Tuesday said they are pulling out of the tour
It cited health risk of travelling to South Africa amid Covid pandemic
Australia pulled out of their Test cricket tour to South Africa Tuesday citing an unacceptable risk to players with the coronavirus rampant in the country. Coach Justin Langer s men were due to play three Tests against the Proteas, and Australia named their squad last week with the intent to fly out this month. But the situation became untenable with the outbreak in South Africa accelerated by a new variant said to be more contagious than earlier strains of the virus.
However, Cricket South Africa is furious with with CAâs decision to quit the tour, which has serious financial ramifications for the organisation, after saying it had met Jolimontâs constantly changing demands.
These included agreeing to give Australia exclusive access to the luxury Irene Country Lodge resort, where Sri Lanka and South Africa had stayed in December/January, commitment to an expensive Australian contract tracing system and VIP access through the airport organised through the South African government.
Weeks of frustration boiled over in a tersely-worded statement overnight.
âWe are extremely disappointed by the decision of CA,â Graeme Smith, CSAâs director of cricket, said.