Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Tuesday said it was disappointed following the decision by Cricket Australia (CA) to withdraw from a proposed tour of South Africa citing COVID-19 fears.
CA on Tuesday released a statement saying it withdrew from the tour as the risks involved in honouring the commitment were “simply too great” at the moment.
According to the World Test Championship schedule, Australia was to tour South Africa between February 14 and March 13.
CSA, in response to the cancellation, said its disappointment stemmed from the fact that it had been “working tirelessly” to ensure “every single expectation” of CA was met.
“CSA wishes to record its immense disappointment at the news. The safety of players is always paramount and over the past few months, CSA held many detailed discussions with CA regarding Covid-19 protocols. These discussions included assessing and managing the Covid-19 risks and consulting with a range of leading medical experts including the SA Ministerial COVID Advisory Committee. CSA worked hard to meet the changing demands of our Australian counterparts,” CSA said.
CSA said it was left frustrated by the late cancellation as it had recently hosted Sri Lanka in a bio-secure environment with no breaches of protocol and Pakistan’s Women’s team was currently touring the country in a similarly secure environment.
CSA also cited the continuation of its domestic tournament, the Momentum One-Day Cup, with no reports of positive cases and a recent easing of COVID-19 restrictions by the South African government following a decline in new cases.
CSA’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Shuaib Manjra said there was not much more CSA could have done to please CA and prepare more appropriately.
The withdrawal from the tour is expected have serious repercussions on CSA’s finances with acting CEO Pholetsi Moseki saying the significant costs of preparation and subsequent cancellation “represents a serious financial loss”.
“In this challenging period for cricket and its member countries, we believe the stance taken by CA is regrettable and will have a serious impact on the sustainability of the less wealthy cricket playing nations.”