The U-19 tour of England and Australia have been postponed indefinitely amid COVID-19.
Originally, the English team was scheduled to play in Australia this month. However, due to restrictions caused by the virus, the said tour was moved to April. Just recently, the two cricket boards have both decided to postpone the tour indefinitely.
Talking about the said matter, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) performance director Mo Bobat said, ‘Travelling over to Australia to represent your country is a fantastic experience at any level, so it's disappointing that we have had to postpone it for the time being, but clearly the right decision given the current climate.’.
‘The series represents one-half of our reciprocal plans with Cricket Australia at Under 19 level and we hope to be able to host the Australian Under 19 team in the UK during our domestic summer. Both boards will continue to explore options for rescheduling the postponed tour to Australia’, his statement added.
Prior to the said postponement of the tour, Cricket Australia (CA) has also announced the championship events for both their men and women U-19 teams will not be held. These events were also postponed due to the restrictions among the different states in Australia. With that, CA made sure to prioritize the welfare of their players so as not to place their health at risk.
This was also confirmed by CA national talent and pathways manager Graham Manou who said, ‘We were very much looking forward to hosting the England Under 19 team, however the significant logistical challenges associated with hosting a series in these times as well as a duty of care to protect the health and wellbeing of both squads, was ultimately why both boards agreed to postpone the tour’.
He also stated that they are still looking forward to working with the ECB to help their young players’ skills in the game. To learn more about how cricket is played, head over to Betwala.
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