The first One-Day International between South Africa and England that was scheduled for Newlands on Friday has been moved to Sunday after a player from the home team tested positive for COVID-19.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) said the latest round of tests conducted on Thursday resulted in an unnamed South African player returning a positive result, the third from within the camp during the six-match limited overs series.
“This decision results from a player from the Proteas team testing positive for COVID-19 after the teams last round of scheduled testing performed on Thursday ahead of the ODIs,” CSA said in a statement.
“In the interests of the safety and well-being of both teams, match officials and all involved in the match, the Acting CEO of CSA, Kugandrie Govender as well as the CEO of the ECB, Tom Harrison, have agreed to postpone the first fixture to Sunday.”
It means there will be back-to-back ODIs on Sunday and Monday in Paarl and nearby Cape Town, before the series is completed at Newlands on Wednesday.
England won the recently completed Twenty20 series 3-0.
