DHAKA, March 5, 2021 (BSS)-The first one-day match between Bangladesh
Emerging Team and visiting Ireland Wolves was called off after 30 overs as
one of the players’ coronavirus test returned positive.
Ireland Wolves all-rounder Ruhan Pretorious was on the field, as he was in
the playing squad when the two teams met at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in
Chattogram today.
Ireland Wolves elected to bowl first after winning the toss and Pretorious
bowled four overs before the game was abandoned as Bangladesh Emerging teams
reached 122-4.
Pretorious was taken to isolation immediately once the test result reached
to the relevant people.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) CEO Nizam Uddin Chowdhury said that
there was no option but to abandon the match in the wake of the situation.
He also informed that the other members of the two sides would be tested
again before the next one-day game, slated for Sunday.
“As soon as the player has been found positive, we followed the protocol of
taking him into isolation,” Chowdhury said here today. “The report [for
Pretorius] arrived slightly later in the morning, which left us with no
choice. Our next step is to test everyone before the upcoming match.”
Both teams received the negative results for Covid-19 prior to the game
but Pretorious was found positive in the review result.
A Cricket Ireland statement on the events said: “Prior to today’s game,
both squads received negative results for Covid, and the game proceeded as
per protocols. However, a review of results by mid-morning by the local
laboratory detected one with COVID-19 positive in the Ireland Wolves squad.”
“Play was suspended and the player was immediately isolated ahead of a
further test today,” the statement added.
Ireland Wolves are on a month-long tour in Bangladesh, where they are
scheduled to play a four-day match, five one-dayers and two T20 matches.
They already played the four-day game of the tour and lost the match by an
innings and 23-run margin. Today’s called off match was the first of the
five-match one-day series against the Bangladesh Emerging Team.
The next matches are slotted for March 7, 9, 12 and 14. The two sides are
also scheduled to play two T20s on March 17 and 18.