eBusiness Weekly
Only five England cricketers turned up for training on Wednesday, with the rest remaining in the team hotel.
England’s first test match in Pakistan in 17 years has been thrown into doubt after several players were struck down with a virus.
Discussions are under way about postponing the match after just five England players — Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Keaton Jennings, Ollie Pope and Joe Root — turned up for the training at the Pindi Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.
The rest of the squad, including captain Ben Stokes, stayed in the hotel as team officials said six or seven players had been affected by the bug.
Brook, Crawley, Pope and Root have all been named in England’s playing XI for the first test due to start on Thursday.
“There’s obviously a few guys not feeling 100 percent,” Root told reporters, adding that he didn’t feel good on Tuesday but woke up feeling better on Wednesday before training at the stadium.
“It’s nothing like food poisoning or Covid-19 . . . I think it’s just one of those things that we’ve unfortunately picked up as a group. We try to do absolutely everything right to make sure we’re prepared really well for this game.
“Sometimes you just pick up a virus and when you’re all tied together in one, I tell you, you can spread it out.
“We did everything we can to try and mitigate that, but you have to see how things go tonight and tomorrow.”
England team spokesman Danny Rueben said several England staff members have also been affected.
The Pakistan Cricket Board said it was discussing the start of the test with the England Cricket Board “and will provide further updates in due course”.
Root said he wasn’t sure whether it was possible to delay the game by a day and have it start on Friday.
“It’s such a monumental tour and important series for so many reasons,” Root said.
“We’ve waited 17 years to come to Pakistan to play a test match, if it means waiting another day, is that the worst thing in the world?
“We’re all desperate to play this game and we know how important it is to the fans of Pakistan and their team as well.
“I don’ think it’s necessarily the worst thing in the world if we have to wait one more day to make sure the game isn’t cancelled and everyone gets what they want, which is an exciting three-match series.”
The long-awaited first Test between Pakistan and England in Rawalpindi will begin as planned after the tourists confirmed they have enough fit players to field a team.
England’s first Test match on Pakistani soil for 17 years had been thrown into turmoil when a “viral infection” swept through the touring party during the build-up, leaving them struggling to muster enough players for the 1 December start.
But despite a day of discussions between the two boards over a possible 24-hour delay — “six or seven” England players having been affected by the bug — the visitors announced their readiness to start the series on Thursday as scheduled.
A joint statement released read: “The ECB has informed the PCB that they are in a position to field an XI, and, as such, the first Test will commence as per schedule today (Thursday, December 1) at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.”
Joe Root’s presence at nets on Wednesday, having fallen ill the night before, had pointed to a swift recovery time, but whether the team already announced by Ben Stokes still stands will be discovered when the toss is held at 930am local time.
Root was one of just five England players who appeared at the optional session, with “13 or 14” players and support staff said to have contracted the illness.
Stokes was among the afflicted, so, too, Jack Leach, whose ongoing management of Crohn’s Disease represents an added complication. Will Jacks and Rehan Ahmed, the two spare spinners in the squad, were also struck down.
Liam Livingstone, set to make his Test debut, reported no issues 24 hours before the match but Ben Duckett, down to make a return at opener following a six-year absence, was also understood to be struggling.
Pakistan’s squad has not been affected, with four players — Saud Shakeel, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Ali and Zahid Mehmood — set to make Test debuts. — SkySports
