Australian Test great Glenn McGrath could miss the pink Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in honour of his late wife Jane after testing positive for Covid-19.
McGrath was slated to attend launch function at the SCG on January 3 (Monday) to announce the latest plans of the pink Test. But the former Aussie World Cup-winning pacer will now have to isolate after returning a positive PCR result.
It is expected that if McGrath can recover and return a negative Test he will attend the third day of the game on January 7 (Friday).
“Glenn has had a PCR test which unfortunately returned a positive result. We wish Glenn and his family good health,” McGrath Foundation CEO Holly Masters said.
“We are hopeful Glenn will remain well and return a negative result in time to attend Day 3 of the Pink Test, now known as Jane McGrath Day on 7 January.
“We are grateful to our partners at Cricket Australia and the SCG, as well as the England Cricket team and the broadcasters for their ongoing support for the Pink Test and look forward to still making this the ‘pinkest’ Ashes,” Masters added.
Training session disrupted
The news of McGrath’s Covid positive test comes amid reports of England training session being disrupted due to a lack of net bowlers.
Both the Australia and England camps are currently having regular Covid-19 tests to avoid the Ashes Test series being postponed due to outbreaks within both the teams.
Australian batter Travis Head was previously, forced to remain in Melbourne after he returned a positive sample two days ago. England coach Chris Silverwood will also miss the fourth Test after he was considered a close contact when a family member tested positive.
Change in squad
Australia were forced to make at least one change for the upcoming fourth Ashes Test in Sydney.
Considering the precautionary measurements, Cricket Australia (CA) had to call three players- Mitchell Marsh, Nic Maddinson and Josh Inglis, into the squad as cover.
Australia captain Pat Cummins had earlier missed the second Test in Adelaide after being a close contact of a confirmed Covid-19 case.
Head became the first player to miss a Test in the Ashes series due to testing positive as Covid-19 closes in on the series.
