The best news for England came from within the Hilton Hotel rather than the pitch on Friday. Just after lunch it was announced that Sam Curran’s Covid-19 test had come back negative.
Fortunately Curran has been suffering from nothing more than bog-standard sickness and diarrhoea, which is not usually a cause of celebration, and he is on the mend. He will return to training within the next 48 hours and, like everyone else in the party, he will undergo a routine test on Sunday.
For Curran, the bug has been ill-timed. For two days he was unable to participate in the practice match, which will reduce the likelihood of him being selected for the first Test against West Indies, which begins at the Ageas Bowl on Wednesday. But there will be relief among the players, the officials of the England and Wales Cricket Board and, no doubt, the West Indies tour party. A positive test within the biosecure bubble would have been a source of anxiety for all.
Curran, a relatively senior player at the age of 22 with 17 Test caps, will no doubt make the Test squad of about 22 players that will be announced by Ed Smith, the chief selector, on Saturday morning. Among the uncapped players in the preliminary squad of 30, Dan Lawrence and Saqib Mahmood may be the likeliest to stay on at the Ageas Bowl.
Out on the pitch there has been plenty of earnest cricket, the rain has stayed away and the players have engaged in the process with due diligence and a touch of humour. Olly Pope, who hit a half-century, spoke for most when he said: “the quality of competition was high; it’s been a very productive three days. Everyone is excited at the prospect of a Test match.”
Mark Wood enlivened the start of play when delivering a passionate rendition of Jerusalem while waving a flag on the top of the pavilion.
Later, a declaration left Team Stokes with a target of 255 from 46 overs. The captain cunningly promoted Jonny Bairstow, which opened up the possibility of a late-afternoon run-chase, but in the end they all settled for an honourable draw.
