As Sportmint last reported on December 7, the One day International series between South Africa and the world champions, England is likely is to be canceled because of the emergence of some Covid-19 cases in the bio-bubble.
Now, the South African board and the English board have confirmed by making the news official. As per the latest joint statement, Cricket South Africa and the England and Wales Cricket Board have agreed to postpone the remaining games. The decision was taken jointly by the two Boards to ensure the mental and physical health and welfare of players from both teams.
The series of three ODIs were initially scheduled for December 4, 6, and 9. On Friday (December 4), just a few moments before the toss time, the first game got postponed to Sunday, as an unnamed South African player got tested coronavirus positive.
Then, on Sunday, 45 minutes before the game, it was reported both teams haven’t traveled to Newlands Stadium. A tweet from CSA confirmed that the match is delayed as all players were undergoing the PCR tests.
An hour later, ECB through its website released a media release to declare the first ODI has been abandoned and the second ODI (which was scheduled for December 7) is also been canceled. The reason stated was  that the two hotel staff members were tested corona positive.
It has been understood that the bio-bubble of the series was sabotaged. The South African board also admitted the fault. The Chief of Medical staff said, “I’m fairly convinced that 99% of the time this environment is working. There may be a breach that’s unbeknown to us and may have caused this positive test. So I’m not saying there’s a zero risk. There may be a slight risk which we cannot mitigate.’
The abandonment of the ODI series against England could cost Cricket South Africa hard time as the teams from Sri Lanka, Pakistan and then Australia are due to tour South Africa in the coming months. Â