JOHANNESBURG – There were no positive results for Covid-19 in the latest round of tests conducted on Tuesday morning for the Proteas Test team.
That means Mark Boucher and his coaching staff no longer have to work with the players in three separate groups and they can return to something akin to normal training for the remaining days leading up to the first Test against Sri Lanka at SuperSport Park, starting on Saturday.
That will be a huge relief to Cricket South Africa following concerns expressed about the bio secure environment for the series with England last month.
Two players had tested positive ahead of the South African squad entering the bio secure environment set up in Cape Town for that series, and subsequently, while everyone was in the ‘bio bubble’ another South African player tested positive for the virus, along with two members of the hotel staff.
The English squad eventually left the country without playing the three match One-Day International series, although it subsequently emerged that their players had enjoyed more rounds of golf and at courses not originally agreed to, while they were in the country
Keegan Petersen and Beuran Hendricks are no longer part of the original squad first selected by Victor Mpitsang and his panel on December 11.
SA Test squad
Quinton de Kock (capt), Temba Bavuma, Aiden Markram, Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Rassie van der Dussen, Anrich Nortje, Glenton Stuurman, Sarel Erwee, Wiaan Mulder, Kyle Verreynne, Migael Pretorius, Dwaine Pretorius, Lutho Sipamla, Raynard van Tonder.
IOL Sport