England name fresh squad for Pakistan series after three players Test COVID-19 positive

The threat of COVID-19 continues to loom large on the world of cricket, signaling that cricket boards and players can ill afford to lower their guards. England, which emerged as a front-runner to open their stadiums for fans after successfully administering a large chunk of their population with the COVID-19 vaccine, have suffered a serious blow ahead of the home series against Pakistan.

Three English cricketers and four management members have tested positive for the virus, forcing their cricket board to come up with contingency plans which include announcing a different squad for the limited-overs series.

"Following PCR tests administered yesterday (Monday) in Bristol, The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) can confirm that seven members - three players and four management team members- of the England Men's ODI party have tested positive for COVID-19," said ECB in an official release.

"Those impacted will now observe a period of self-isolation from July 4 following the UK Government's protocol on quarantine. The remaining members of the party have been deemed close contacts and will also isolate. Ben Stokes will return to England duties and captain the squad,” the release further mentioned.

While, Tom Harrison, Chief Executive Officer, commented: ‘‘We have been mindful that the emergence of the Delta variant, along with our move away from the stringent enforcement of bio secure environments, could increase the chances of an outbreak. We made a strategic choice to try to adapt protocols, in order to support the overall wellbeing of our players and management staff who have spent much of the last 14 months living in very restricted conditions.

Overnight we have worked swiftly to identify a new squad, and we are grateful to Ben Stokes who will return to England duties to Captain.”

“We also recognize the impact this news will have on our First Class Counties and their Men’s playing squads and thank them, along with our partners Sky and Royal London, for their ongoing support in dealing with this pandemic.’’

Meanwhile, England’s new squad bears a fresh look with Ben Stokes as the captain.

England’s new squad: Squad: Ben Stokes (captain), Jake Ball, Danny Briggs, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Lewis Gregory, Tom Helm, Will Jacks, Dan Lawrence, Saqib Mahmood, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Matt Parkinson, David Payne, Phil Salt, John Simpson, James Vince