Last Updated on 4 years by Charbel Coorey
CSA Expresses Disappointment on Australia’s Decision Over South Africa Test Tour | Cricket South Africa expresses disappointment
The effects of the pandemic on the sports industry can still be felt in cricket as Cricket Australia (CA) announced that they are pulling out of the South Africa Test tour due to virus concerns. The said tour is supposed to be held this month and in March.
The news wasn’t taken lightly by Cricket South Africa (CSA) and many fans went on Twitter to express their thoughts on the matter. Many were questioning the fact that CA still went on tour to England last year to play despite the COVID 19 outbreak, and here they are ditching the South Africa tour.
There were still plenty of cricket matches that pushed through last year despite the pandemic. The Indian Premier League (IPL) was even able to push through before the year ended. This made many fans including sports punters happy and excited.
The IPL will even be able to push through this year even if the health crisis isn’t over. Many fans are already looking forward to this and are already asking questions like How to bet on cricket during IPL 2021? They no longer wonder if the IPL will be postponed this year once again. They can just focus on the latest updates for the upcoming season.
Why Australia Has Come to This Decision
The main reason why CA had to pull out of the Test tour is the latest outbreak in South Africa. CA said that they were left with no choice because of the current situation in the country. CA interim CEO Nick Hockley said that their decision was not been made lightly.
“Due to the public health situation in South Africa, which includes a second wave and new variant of the virus, and following extensive due diligence with medical experts, it has become clear that traveling from Australia to South Africa at this current time poses an unacceptable level of health and safety risk to our players, support staff and the community.”
He further explained the reason they have behind their decision and said, “I don’t think Cricket South Africa could have done any more in terms of biosecurity arrangements. Firstly, South Africa, very sadly, hit the peak of their second [coronavirus] wave.
“And secondly, they have got the more virulent strain which there is still lots of unknowns around that. As we worked through the residual risk and also some questions and challenges [around] if we were to get a case, how and when we could get our players back home, putting the health and safety number one, we were left with no option.”
Hockley also mentioned that they also offered to host the series in Australia. “We did offer to host the series here, but Cricket South Africa made that very clear that they have got lots of other commitments and with quarantine periods and the like, that just wasn’t feasible.”
CSA’s Response to the Situation
Aside from the fans who didn’t take this lightly, CSA itself expressed the disappointment that they have. CSA’s director, Graeme Smith, was frustrated about this. He said, “This was set to be the longest tour in a bio-secure environment (BSE), comprising a three-match Test series that was scheduled to begin with Australia’s arrival later in the month. And so, to be informed about the CA decision at the eleventh hour is frustrating.”
CSA’s medical officer, Shuaib Manjra also talked about the measures that they had in place if the tour wasn’t canceled. Manjra said, “The protocols we had proposed to CA were unprecedented. Firstly we had agreed that our own Proteas team would enter the BSE 14 days before the arrival of the Australian team, thus altering their planning during the current tour of Pakistan. Among some of the other key arrangements made were that all four areas (two hotels and two venues) had a protocol to implement a strict BSE with no contact with anybody outside this area.
“We subsequently agreed to two separate BSEs and had granted Australia full and exclusive use of the Irene Country Lodge [near Centurion], which we shared with Sri Lanka, with a minimum staff present on site. In terms of the arrangements, the Proteas were to move to a separate hotel altogether.
“Furthermore, all hotel staff, match officials, and even bus drivers were to enter the BSE 14 days before Australia’s arrival. Besides, CSA had also committed to importing an Australian tracking system at great cost to ensure proper tracking of close contacts in the event of a positive test. The touring team was also going to be granted VIP access through the airports, after government intervention to ensure this privilege.”
CSA’s acting chief executive also expressed his thoughts on the matter. Pholetsi Moseki said It is indeed sad that after all the engagements and efforts made to ensure a secure visit by our Australian counterparts, the tour has been derailed. CSA has incurred significant costs related to the planning stages and the cancellation of the tour represents a serious financial loss. In this challenging period for cricket and its member countries, we believe the stance taken by CA is regrettable and will have a serious impact on the sustainability of the less wealthy cricket-playing nations.”
