Xtra Time Web Desk: Cricket South Africa (CSA) was on Tuesday expressed its disappointment on Cricket Australia postponing its tour to South Africa at the last hour citing COVID-19 fears. According to a statement by CSA, the safety of players is always paramount and over the past few months, CSA held many detailed discussions with CA regarding Covid-19 protocols. These discussions included assessing and managing the Covid-19 risks and consulting with a range of leading medical experts including the SA Ministerial COVID Advisory Committee. CSA worked hard to meet the changing demands of our Australian counterparts.
CSA is particularly disappointed given that South Africa recently hosted Sri Lanka in a bio-secure environment (BSE) at Centurion, with no breaches of protocol. Currently the Pakistan Women’s team are touring the country in a secure BSE in Durban.
Apart from those two successful BSEs, CSA has continued its domestic Momentum One-Day Cup in a BSE in Potchefstroom and no positive cases have been reported. In addition, it must be noted that President Ramaphosa announced an easing of lockdown restrictions last night in response to the 75% reduction in new Covid-19 infections since the peak of the second wave in December 2020.
“We are extremely disappointed by the decision of CA,” Director of Cricket, Graeme Smith, stated. “CSA has been working tirelessly in recent weeks to ensure that we meet every single expectation of CA.
“This was set to be the longest tour in a BSE comprising a three-match Test series that was scheduled to begin with Australia’s arrival later in the month. So to be informed about the CA decision at the eleventh hour is frustrating.”