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XtraTime Web Desk: All eyes will be in England as international cricket resumes after almost 3 months hiatus due to COVID-19. It will start with the bio-secure tests between the touring West Indies side and England. Jason Holder and his team have reached Manchester on June 09 and have been quarantining themselves at the Hilton hotel which is adjacent to the Old Trafford ground.

The Lancashire County Cricket ground will host the final two test matches of the series against West Indies from July 16-20 and July 24-28. The first test will be staged in Southampton from July 08, at the Ageas Bowl ground. The county ground of Hampshire too has bio-secure arrangements with Hilton hotel overlooking the stadium. Old Trafford and Ageas Bowl are the only two county grounds in UK that have bio-secure arrangements. Let’s take a look at the arrangements being made at the Old Trafford:

Access to the site is being strictly monitored. The entire surroundings in and around Old Trafford including the Hilton hotel has been made a restricted zone. Any individual needing to access the site, there will be stringent health checks in place, including COVID-19 testing, temperature checks and health questionnaires, which will be completed by medical professionals. The Hilton hotel has separate rooms for each and every member of both the teams. In order to maintain social distancing at all points, the different areas of the hotel has been designated into separate zones.

In terms of catering, the hotel has made arrangements for split food service across multiple areas to ensure there is no overcrowding. The doors of the hotel rooms are contactless and can be accessed via smart phones which will be used as keys. The players can access the ground without even having to step outside the hotel with the help of innovative bridge links.