Proteas-Netherlands ODI series falls to Covid, travel ban

Cricket South Africa (CSA) and Koninklijke Nederlandse Cricket Bond (KNCB) have mutually agreed to defer the three-match One-Day International (ODI) series which began on Friday.

The decision comes as a result of mounting anxiety and concern on the side of the visiting team around travel bans and restrictions on flights from South Africa being imposed by several countries around the world including the United Kingdom (UK), European Union (EU) and the United States of America (USA).

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These actions are as a result of Thursday’s announcement by the National Department of Health of South Africa of a new variant of the COVID-19 virus discovered in the country.

“We are disappointed by the unfortunate situation we find ourselves in, but the comfort of all visiting teams must always be paramount. The mental well-being of players is one of CSA’s top priorities, and we respect our visitors’ position and point of view,” said CSA Acting CEO, Mr Pholetsi Moseki.

“We are disappointed by the unfortunate situation we find ourselves in, but the comfort of all visiting teams must always be paramount. The mental well-being of players is one of CSA’s top priorities, and we respect our visitors’ position and point of view.

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“CSA and KNCB will get into discussions around possibly rescheduling the tour within this cycle of the ICC Future Tours Programme ending in 2023.”

The Netherlands team will remain in the BSE hotel until their return flights have been finalised with the support of key CSA BSE staff.