A mass airlift of Australia, Australia A and Big Bash League players into New South Wales has been successfully completed to avoid Cricket Australia (CA) having its summer plans severely disrupted by border restrictions imposed on South Australia (SA) due to a developing Covid-19 outbreak in the state.
CA and the BBL clubs moved rapidly to ensure all players left the affected state and also Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania after all three state governments imposed quarantine restrictions on SA.
A charter flight was arranged to transport all players and staff from the Adelaide Strikers to a training camp in Coffs Harbour. This will allow Australia players to prepare freely for the upcoming white-ball series against India, plus Australia A players to prepare for warm-up games against Virat Kohli's touring side and also the Strikers and other SA-based BBL players ahead the tournament's scheduled early-December start in Hobart.
This should allow smooth progression of the summer fixtures even if the SA outbreak continues to grow. SA's border remains open to NSW and Victoria, and CA maintains that Adelaide Oval will host the first Test of the summer against India from December 17 onwards.
"CA has taken a proactive approach and mobilised a number of people across the country over the past 24 hours to shore up our men's domestic and international schedules," CA's interim chief executive Nick Hockley said. "I would like to thank the players and staff for their understanding…and also the various leadership groups across Australian cricket for coming together over the past 48 hours and taking quick, decisive action. CA will continue to monitor the situation in South Australia and the resulting border restrictions around the country.
"As ever, we will remain agile in addressing the challenges presented by the pandemic and remain more confident than ever of hosting a safe and successful summer across all formats."
John Stephenson
john@cricketinvestor.co.uk
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