Three New Zealand players test Covid-19 positive ahead of the three-Test series against England, which begins on June 2 at Lord’s Stadium.
Three New Zealand players test Covid-19 positive are Top-of-the-line batter Henry Nicholls, Blair Tickner, and bowling coach Shane Jurgensen have all tested positive for the virus and will be isolated in a hotel room for five days.
Three New Zealand players test Covid-19 positive : New Zealand Cricket
“Three of the BLACKCAPS touring group are in isolation after testing positive for Covid-19 on the morning of the first warm-up match against Sussex in Brighton,” New Zealand Cricket (NZC) said in a statement on Friday.
“After producing positive Rapid Antigen Tests this (Friday) morning, Henry Nicholls, Blair Tickner, and bowling coach Shane Jurgensen have began five days of hotel room isolation.”
The four-day warm-up game against Sussex will go on as planned, according to the statement, which also stated that all other members of the touring group had tested negative but the news of Three New Zealand players test Covid-19 positive is a big concern ahead of the English Test Series.
Nicholls, a left-handed middle-order batsman, has been an important member of New Zealand’s Test team, scoring eight hundreds in 46 games at an average of 40.38. He would have been unable to participate in the tour game anyway, having suffered a grade one calf injury while doing drills at a pre-tour camp in Mount Maunganui earlier this month. Despite the fact that scans revealed no tear, Nicholls is expected to miss both of New Zealand’s warm-up games and faces a race to be healthy for the first Test on June 2 at Lord’s.
Tickner has yet to play in a Test match, but has played in two ODIs and eight T20Is, most recently in an ODI series against the Netherlands at home.
Jurgensen, a former Queensland fast bowler, has been the bowling coach for New Zealand since 2016, and his current contract runs until the end of 2022. He previously worked with New Zealand between 2008 and 2010, and this is his second term as the national team’s bowling coach.
“The rest of the tour group has now been tested, and all have returned negative findings. The four-day warm-up match will take place as scheduled “announced NZC.
The news of Three New Zealand players test Covid-19 positive is worrisome for the Blackcaps as they have a full schedule of matches against England this summer.