Two U-19 World Cup matches have been postponed as nine Canadian cricket players were tested positive for the Covid-19 virus. The current edition of the U-19 World Cup is presently being played in the West Indies. Canada, scheduled to play Scotland on January (29) Saturday, at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad will now have to wait for their encounter as they are depleted with the outbreak and are unable to field their team.
The consequence of the postponement means that Canada's match against either Uganda or Papua New Guinea (PNG) will also have to be postponed as the players will be in isolation.
The official statement
"Canada's plate play-off semifinal with Scotland on 29 January is canceled and in accordance with the playing conditions Scotland will progress to the 13th/14th play-off as a result of having a better net-run-rate than Canada from all matches played in the event,” a statement from International Cricket Council (ICC) read.
"The 15th/16th play-off that would have featured Canada against either Uganda or PNG will also not take place.
"We are incredibly disappointed to have to cancel two ICC U-19 Men's Cricket World Cup games due to COVID-19 at this stage of the event,” ICC Head of Events, Chris Tetley said.
It is worth noting that, last week West Indies had an ODI game against Ireland postponed due to the outbreak of the pandemic.
Indian team hit by virus
Earlier, five players from the Indian team also tested positive for the coronavirus, during the U-19 World Cup. Australia captain Pat Cummins was forced to sit out of the Adelaide Test against England in the Ashes after he was in contact with a Covid-19 positive person.
"We were expecting to see some positive cases throughout the event and to date these have been managed in accordance with our bio-safety plan without impacting on fixtures. However with so many players from the Canadian team testing positive it will not be possible to stage these games," Tetley added.
The latest postponement could impact the schedule of the other matches as well. The U-19 World Cup is already in the knock-out stage. While teams that aren't in the Super League knock-out stage are trying to finish as higher as possible through the plate stage.
In the meantime, the players will remain isolated until they are tested negative and allowed to return back to the field.
