AUS vs NZ: Kane Richardson quarantined after reporting illness

Kane Richardson (IANS)

Sydney, March 13: Australia pacer Kane Richardson has been quarantined after reporting a mild sore throat and was subsequently ruled out of the first ODI of the three-match series against New Zealand which started Friday at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). After reporting illness on the eve of the first ODI, the Australian medical staff decided to test Richardson for coronavirus, the results for which are still awaited.

"Our medical staff are treating this a typical throat infection but we are following Australian government protocols that require us to keep Kane away from other members of the squad and perform the appropriate tests given he has returned from international travel in the last 14 days," cricket.com.au quoted a Cricket Australia spokesperson as saying.

"Once we receive the results of the tests and Kane recovers in the next few days we expect he will re-join the team. We will not be making further comment until something changes," he added.

The Cricket Australia has already announced that the ongoing Chappell Hadlee series will be played behind closed doors due to the coronavirus outbreak. They have also suspended the women's tour of South Africa, where the two teams were scheduled to play three ODIs and as many T20Is.

The ongoing coronavirus has had a severe impact on sporting events around the world. The remaining two ODIs of the India-South Africa series will also be held behind closed doors in Lucknow and in Kolkata.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has also announced that the remaining matches of ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) will take place behind closed doors.

More than 1,10,000 people have been infected across the world with coronavirus and 4,000 have lost their lives. In India more than 70 cases have been reported so far and an elderly person has also lost his life due to the coronavirus.