Cricket stars returns to field: South Africa high performance squad return to training

Cricketing activities in South Africa have been delayed since March15, when the domestic ODI event was in progress.

Around the same time, their men’s team was touring India for a three-match ODI series, which was suspended due to the coronavirus.

With more than 1,38,000 Covid-19 cases in SA and over 2,400 have lost their lives.
The players will train in small monitored groups with identified coaches from their nearest franchise teams.

These sessions will be in accordance with the guidelines set out by the CSA COVID-19 Steering Committee and approved by the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD).

“We engaged with the NICD who were comfortable with our protocols and responses to their queries for further details in some respects," CSA Chief Medical Officer, Shuaib Manjra said.

"Our prevention programme, besides the regular testing of players and support staff, is predicated on personal hygiene measures and creating a sanitised ecosystem.

"COVID-19 compliance managers at each venue have assumed responsibility to ensure all the elements of the protocol are implemented,” said he.

Meanwhile, plans for the commencement of training for the women’s high performance training squad are underway and will be relayed as soon as possible.

The training sessions will be closed to the media until CSA makes provision for a media opportunity, this includes photographers. 

Image: Wikimedia Commons