Concerns over 4th Test in Brisbane after Queensland imposes hard lockdown

A day after the BCCI wrote to Cricket Australia seeking relaxation in hard quarantine protocol of Brisbane for the fourth Test to go ahead, it has been reported that A ‘hard’ lockdown for at least three days imposed by the Queensland government starting from Friday evening.

A senior BCCI executive had written to CA head Earl Eddings citing the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two boards regarding the modalities of the tour which did not mention two hard quarantine in different cities.

“We are going to go hard and we are going to go early to do everything we can to stop the spread,” Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said on Friday.

“This is incredibly serious. We are declaring that Greater Brisbane area a hotspot and I’m also asking my colleagues from other jurisdictions to also declare Greater Brisbane a hotspot until we get through this together,” Palaszczuk said.

When asked about the Brisbane test match which is slated to begin from January 15, the premier replied: “Still talking . . . still positive talks at this stage.”

On the other hand, a top BCCI official speaking to PTI said, “The discussions are still on but today BCCI has formally sent a letter seeking relaxation of hard quarantine for its players if they are to have the match in Brisbane.”

“The MoU that was signed never mentioned about two hard quarantines. India have done one hard quarantine in Sydney (practice and back to hotel room),” he added.

The Brisbane Test starts on January 15 and if the quarantine is in place, it will mean that the players will be restricted to their room everyday after the day’s play.