Chief Executive Officer of Cricket West Indies, Johnny Grave has confirmed that West Indies players will be tested for the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) upon arrival in England.
West Indies are likely to travel to the United Kingdom for a three-Test series in July. The series was booked for June but due to the pandemic and England Cricket Board stopping all cricket until July 1, the series has been rescheduled to start on July 8.
Additionally, the ECB will have its plate full since they will have to figure out the logistics to allow flights from the Caribbean into England as boarders are currently closed.
“Yes…players will be tested on arrival,” Grave responded to Stabroek Sport when asked about the health measures in place for the tour.
CWI and ECB on Friday held a virtual meeting with Chief Medical Officers of both Boards along with captains and coaches to seek a way forward.
An ECB spokesperson described the discussion as “wide-ranging, including dialogue around revised schedules and Covid-19 medical and bio-security planning”,
Grave added, “The medical plan is constantly evolving and almost certainly will do throughout the tour too.”
The CEO affirmed that CWI’s first and foremost priority is the safety of its players and staff, noting, “We wouldn’t tour unless our medical team is satisfied with the ECB plan.”
Grave also indicated that players will not be mandated to tour, but their decision to opt out of the series would be respected.
When asked about CWI’s position on players having the option of refusing to go on the tour Grave responded, “we did that for both the Men’s and Women’s tours to Pakistan, so yes I think if a player wasn’t happy to go we would respect that decision.”
Among those that opted out of the Pakistan tour were Jason Holder, Carlos Brathwaite and Stafanie Taylor.
