The Sheffield Shield game between New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria, which was scheduled to be played on Friday, has been postponed after adverse Covid-19 test results of Victorian all-rounder Will Sutherland.
The decision to postpone the game came hours before the toss at the Sydney Cricket Ground with the entire Victoria squad, including support staff, placed in self-isolation as further analysis is conducted on Sutherland's test.
Cricket Australia (CA) was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au that during routine testing Sutherland "returned a test result which requires further analysis".
"No members of Australia's Ashes squad were due to play in the match, with those this week picked for national duty already in Queensland ahead of the first Test in Brisbane. The results of further testing will determine whether the match can begin tomorrow (Saturday), or if it will be postponed to a later date," the report said.
"The Marsh Sheffield Shield match between New South Wales and Victoria at the Sydney Cricket Ground, scheduled to begin today, has been postponed due to a possible COVID-19 case in the Victorian side," Cricket Australia said in a statement, half-an-hour before the scheduled toss.
"In the course of routine COVID-19 testing, Will Sutherland has returned a test result which requires further analysis. The Victorian team is currently self-isolating while this analysis and investigation takes place. Cricket Australia will provide further updates in due course."
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This is the second time during the season a Shield game has been postponed on the morning of the match. The Queensland-Tasmania match in September was cancelled after cases of community transmission were reported in Brisbane.