England tour of South Africa could be called off if more positive Covid tests emerge

England’s tour to South Africa could be called off as officials anxiously await results of an emergency round of testing for Covid 19.

The South African squad and management, as well as the hotel staff, were tested on Friday after the first ODI was postponed an hour before it was due to start when one of the home players tested positive.

It is the third positive test in the South African squad but alarmingly for the medical team, this infection was picked up in the past week when the players were living in a supposedly secure biobubble. England had privately expressed concerns about the integrity of the biosecure environment.

The positive test emerged on Thursday night and discussions with England ran into the early hours of Friday morning. A final decision to postpone the ODI until Sunday was not finalised until the England squad were on the team bus making the short journey from their hotel to Newlands, prompting them to turn around and go back.

If further positive tests are confirmed on Saturday it will throw the rest of the tour into serious doubt with South Africa not having enough time to call up replacements because they would have to isolate and be tested before being allowed to join the squad.

The South Africa medical team were last night trying to ascertain who had been in close contact with the player, who has not been named, and were examining CCTV footage to monitor his movements.

They denied suggestions a player had left the hotel unauthorised and put the integrity of the bubble at risk.

England have had more than 1,000 Covid tests since the start of the summer and all have returned negative. It is understood the tourists have been surprised by the looser restrictions in place in the team hotel than those they experienced at home in the summer and were worried a Covid outbreak could occur.

“Clearly this is a cause for concern. England has expressed a concern. They are questioning the confidence they have in a biosecure environment and rightfully so because it is a player who tested positive and contracted the virus in the last week,” said Dr Shuaib Manjra, the South African team doctor.

The England squad are due to fly home on Thursday and some are worried that a Covid outbreak at the hotel could put at risk their return to the UK.

A bio-secure bubble can only mitigate risk, and not eliminate it completely, but this is embarrassing for Cricket South Africa, which has been hit by scandal and infighting in recent months. Each match is worth about £500,000 in broadcast revenue and cash-strapped CSA will be desperate for the ODI series to go ahead. The revised schedule will see England play in Paarl on Sunday, and at Newlands on Monday and Wednesday.

The South Africa squad is now down to 17 players from 24. Six were released from the bubble after the T20s due to injury or to be rested, and the player who tested positive is in isolation. David Miller and Andile Phehlukwayo are believed to have tested positive before the T20 series and two of their close contacts were temporarily put in isolation.

CSA have refused to name the player who tested positive this time but Heinrich Klaasen missed the final T20 on Tuesday with illness. It is understood the player initially fell ill with a stomach bug and was separated immediately from the rest of the squad to limit potential spread.

More positive tests on Saturday would jeopardise putting a team out, especially if close contacts are in isolation as well, and will further alarm England players. Any that decide not to risk playing against South Africa will be allowed to pull out, although none have expressed a concern yet.

The two teams are staying at the Vineyard hotel but have been separated into different wings. England have added their own social-distancing protocols on top of those put in place by CSA, such as not being able to visit each other’s rooms and eating at separate tables.

“I’m fairly convinced that 99 per cent of the time this environment is working. There may be a breach that’s unknown to us, it may have caused this positive test. So I’m not saying there’s zero risk – there may be a slight risk which we cannot mitigate. There’s a lot of moving parts in a tour such as this and we’re trying to control that,” said Dr Manjra.

“I can categorically state that no player was able to leave the hotel environment, simply by virtue of the fact there’s security around and the security will not allow a player to leave unless that player is leaving in an official assigned vehicle with an official driver. There’s a command centre here led by the colonel from the Claremont police force and they strictly enforce the bio-bubble.”

Covid is on the rise in the Western Cape and the proportion of positive tests was up from 16 to 20 percent last week. Restaurants, bars and shops are open and there were fears the government would introduce stricter controls but instead it was the Eastern Cape that was placed under curfew.

The hotel staff at the Vineyard are staying on site and not going home to reduce the risk of transmission. All of England’s cricket last summer was played at grounds with hotels on site to reduce the risk of transmission but this was not possible in South Africa with England travelling to Newlands and Paarl, a one hour drive from Cape Town.