CWI makes quarantine requests of England

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC):

CRICKET WEST Indies (CWI) is open to Windies players being quarantined for the tour of England to come off, but it would want four weeks of preparation and has said that, and other considerations, to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

That confirmation came Tuesday from CWI Chief Executive Officer Johnny Grave, who said the ECB would report on their proposals for the tour going forward on Monday.

The Windies were scheduled to begin a three-Test tour of England on June 4, but the COVID-19 pandemic has forced a postponement. No new date has been announced, but media reports have indicated that the ECB is looking at July 8 for the start of the series.

Monday’s virtual meeting between the ECB and CWI will come a week after the United Kingdom government released a document, titled ‘Our Plan to Rebuild: The UK Government’s COVID-19 Recovery Strategy’, which said that sports behind closed doors for broadcast could resume from June 1.

PLAN FOR SAFE TOUR

“In light of what UK government announced a day or so ago, we expect to hear from the ECB in terms of much more progress in developing their plan for what would be, in their opinion, a safe tour,” Grave said on the ‘Mason and Guest’ radio show here on Tuesday night.

“Obviously, the first thing that the ECB needs to get is the UK government’s clearance on that tour, and then it will be us to consider the plan, consult with the players and ultimately get a decision from our board of directors whether to go through with that tour or not.”

Grave said the Windies have not set a deadline for the ECB to decide on its end whether the tour is still possible. However, he said there are some specific arrangements which need to be made.

“We fully expect the quarantine for two weeks, but within our discussions with the ECB, we would expect to be in a facility that allows us to train outdoors, so we’re talking about cricket venues that have hotel accommodation on the site, and therefore the entire practice facility as well as hotel accommodation would be in a bio-secure environment,” he said.

“We’ve said to the ECB we want four weeks, minimum, from landing, to prepare and to acclimatise and get used to the conditions. Obviously, that would involve testing and quarantine as well. So, there’s really no deadline from us, as it’s very much an England home tour, any deadlines would really be dictated by the ECB and their calendar.”