Daily Times

LAHORE: Pakistan and England cricket boards Wednesday delayed the decision on holding the first fixture of the three-match Test series till Thursday (today), a statement said yesterday. England and Pakistan officials were in discussions about a possible 24-hour delay to the first Test in Pakistan, after 13 to 14 members of the England squad — including half the 16-man playing pool — were struck down by illness on Wednesday. The issue is thought to be a virus or bug rather than food poisoning, with England taking particular care over what they eat with the help of a chef, Omar Meziane, who has travelled with the team for this tour. However, on Tuesday, some players reported feeling unwell and were told to stay in their rooms to limit the risk of spreading the virus.

The British press had earlier reported that players were suffering from viral food poisoning after the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) issued a statement saying that “several players and staff members, including England captain Ben Stokes, are feeling unwell and have been advised to stay at the hotel to rest up”.

Ben Stokes, England captain, and James Anderson are understood to be two of those affected. Jack Leach, who lives with Crohn’s disease and takes immunosuppressant medication, which weakens his immune system, is suffering from symptoms but is said to be fine. Joe Root had symptoms on Tuesday but recovered well enough to train on Wednesday. Likewise, Mark Wood, who was already set to miss the first Test through injury, has shown signs of improvement after missing training on Tuesday and being confined to his room.

An ECB spokesperson confirmed that the illnesses were not Covid-19 related, with players experiencing vomiting and diarrhoea. There is a hope the virus passes in 24 hours though England’s chances of getting off to a strong start have been severely hampered. Root, speaking to the media on Wednesday, acknowledged that discussions were underway about a rearranged start to the match, with officials from the two boards meeting to consider all options. A final decision is expected to rest with the England team doctors, who are due to assess the players by 8am local time, two hours before the scheduled start of play. With the hours of play already cramped by the fast-setting winter sun, a delayed start to Thursday’s play has already been ruled out. The playing conditions for the World Test Championship require all matches to be staged across a five-day window, therefore ICC dispension will be required if the game is to be rearranged as a four-day Test. However, an ECB spokesperson confirmed that play would not have got underway in the current circumstances.

“It is unfortunate we are in this situation, but we don’t think it is food-related,” Root said. “I don’t think there is any correlation between the two and in fact the chef is ill as well, so I don’t think it is the food. The thing is we have been trying to bring a chef away with us for a couple of years now. This is the first opportunity we have had to do it. Look at all the other international sporting teams around, even Premier League and Championship teams have their own chef, so we think from a nutrition and performance side of things, we are trying to do everything we can to optimise ourselves and be in the right position to perform.”

This is not the first time England have been struck down by illness at the start of a tour recently. On the 2019-20 tour of South Africa, another bug coursed through the squad in the lead-up and during their Boxing Day Test in Pretoria, with a number of players having to leave the field of play to use the toilet and take on fluids in separate changing rooms away from the group. They went on to lose the Test. Such was the rate of spread of this particular virus that many England players wondered if they were struck by an early version of Covid-19. But, just as it is now, the symptoms were very different.