West Indies team enters 'bio-secure bubble' as they arrive in England ahead of test series

The West Indies cricket team arrived in England on Tuesday to enter the 'bio-secure bubble' ahead of the proposed Test series. The players will be quarantined at the Old Trafford for three weeks before the first test at Ageas Bowl. The three-match test series, which is subject to clearance from the UK government, will be played without any crowd. 

In its guidelines for the resumption of cricket post-COVID-19, the ICC had stated, "consider the need for a pre-match isolation training camp with health, temperature checks and CV-19 testing - e.g. at least 14 days prior to travel to ensure the team is CV-19 free." The apex cricket body had also advised appointing a Chief Medical Officer and/or Biosafety Official who will be responsible for implementing government regulations and the biosafety plan to resume training and competition.

The first test of the series will commence on July 8 at the Ageas Bowl. The second and third test will be played at the Old Trafford subsequently dates for which are July 16 and July 24. The ECB while announcing the proposed schedule had stated that decision on other scheduled matches for England Men and England Women this summer will be determined at a later date.

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Ticket purchasers for the original England v West Indies Test series will be entitled to a refund. From 2 June, the venues will begin contacting ticket buyers to inform them of the refund process as well as any other options available to them.

READ | Resume Cricket But Only If There Is No Risk Of Spurt In Local Transmission: ICC

West Indies to miss Hetmyer, Bravo & Paul

Meanwhile, the West Indies will miss the likes of Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer and Keemo Paul as they decided to opt-out of the tour citing the Coronavirus crisis. Their decision has been backed by West Indies' legends Ian Bishop and Michael Holding as well. Cricket West Indies (CWI) confirmed that the three players had 'declined the invitation' to tour England and categorically stated that their choice will not be used against them in the process of selection in the future. 

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Speaking on his YouTube channel, Michael Holding called it unfortunate for the trio to miss out on the tour to England and that West Indies will miss their talent. The former Windies pacer laid specific emphasis on Darren Bravo giving the tour a miss and opined that the star should 'resuscitate his career'. Holding called for Bravo to fulfil the prophecy of him going on to become one of West Indies' greatest batsmen and that he needed to show the world his class as a cricketer. 

READ | West Indies Get Green Light From Board For 'bio-secure' Tour To England In July