Pakistan tour on the edge as Windies-Aus ODI postponed due to Covid

Pakistan cricket team’s tour of West Indies was on the edge as a non-playing member of the host squad has tested positive for coronavirus resulting in the postponement of the one-dayer with the visiting Australian team on Thursday.

Pakistan’s cricket squad have already landed in the Caribbean ahead of their July 27th opening match with the West Indies Cricket team.

The Pakistanis arrival came as Cricket West Indies was forced to cancel the second One Day International in Barbados after a member of the West Indies staff tested positive for COVID-19.

Pakistan’s tour of the West Indies will begin with the first of the five-match T20I series to be held on July 27. The first two games of the series will be played at Kensington Oval in Barbados before the bandwagon moves to Guyana for the last three T20Is.

The two-match Test series will follow the T20I series. Sabina Park in Jamaica will host both these games.

The Pakistan cricket team members have tested negative for coronavirus, after arriving in West Indies to play the series against the hosts. The Pakistani squad members will resume training today.

The match-line-up is as follows:

July 27, 2021

Pakistan vs West Indies, 1st T20I at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados (Time: 08:30 PM IST, 3:00 PM GMT, 11:00 AM LOCAL)

July 28, 2021

Pakistan vs West Indies, 2nd T20I at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados (Time: 08:30 PM IST, 3:00 PM GMT, 11:00 AM LOCAL)

July 31, 2021

 Pakistan vs West Indies, 3rd T20I at Providence Stadium, Guyana (Time: 08:30 PM IST, 3:00 PM GMT, 11:00 AM LOCAL)

Aug 1, 2021

Pakistan vs West Indies, 4th T20I at Providence Stadium, Guyana (Time: 08:30 PM IST, 3:00 PM GMT, 11:00 AM LOCAL)

Aug 3, 2021

Pakistan vs West Indies, 5th T20I at Providence Stadium, Guyana (Time: 08:30 PM IST, 3:00 PM GMT, 11:00 AM LOCAL)

Aug 12-16, 2021

Pakistan vs West Indies, 1st Test at Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica (Time: 7:30 PM IST, 02:00 PM GMT, 09:00 AM LOCAL)

Aug 20-24, 2021

Pakistan vs West Indies, 2nd Test at Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica (Time: 7:30 PM IST, 02:00 PM GMT, 09:00 AM LOCAL).

ODI postponed

Earlier, a positive Covid-19 test on Thursday resulted in the last-minute postponement of the scheduled second One-Day International between the West Indies and Australia at Kensington Oval, officials announced.

"The second ODI between West Indies and Australia has been postponed due a positive Covid-19 test result from a non-playing member of the West Indies team," said a Cricket West Indies statement.

"This decision was taken after the toss at Kensington Oval once the result was known due to the Covid-19 protocols. 

"All members of both teams and match officials will be retested today. A decision on when the match will replayed will be made at a later date once the test results are known."

The International Cricket Council said that all personnel inside the bio-secure bubble for the series will be placed into isolation.

Cricket West Indies chief executive Johnny Grave subsequently expressed the hope that the results of a fresh round of PCR tests will be known on Friday morning.

After that a determination will be made on the remaining two ODIs of the tour.

News of the postponement came through following a delay to the start of the match after Alex Carey had won the toss and chose to bat first.

Australia won the first match by 133 runs on the DLS method two days earlier at the same venue.

Players were seen returning to their respective dressing rooms mere minutes away from the start of a match in which fast bowler Riley Meredith was set to make his ODI debut, having received his cap from injured appointed captain Aaron Finch, before the toss was taken.

Thursday's postponement not only jeopardises the remaining two ODIs of this tour but also Australia's tour to Bangladesh which was only confirmed on Thursday and for which the squad was supposed to depart following the scheduled final match on Saturday, also at Kensington Oval.

"Unfortunate," tweeted former West Indies fast bowler Ian Bishop.

"It's the risk taken in these testing times. Hope the person is not too adversely affected."

Agencies