An outbreak of COVID-19 sidelined Canada’s ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup squad in the Caribbean.
The International Cricket Council said on Friday that nine Canadian players had tested positive, forcing the team to sit out the tournament as they did not have enough players available to continue.
Players are isolated at the team hotel and monitored by medical staff. Cricket Canada chairman Rashpal Bajwa said all nine players had no symptoms.
Canada’s playoff semi-final with Scotland in a consolation match, scheduled for Saturday in Trinidad and Tobago, has been called off, with the Scots advancing to the 13th/14th playoffs due to a better rate of net race than Canada. The 15th/16th place qualifiers that would have pitted Canada against Uganda or Papua New Guinea have also been cancelled.
“We are extremely disappointed to have to cancel two ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup matches due to COVID-19 at this stage of the event,” said ICC Events Manager Chris Tetley. , in a press release.
“We expected to see positive cases throughout the event and to date these have been managed in accordance with our biosecurity plan with no impact on the facilities. However, with so many players from the Canadian team testing positive, it will not be possible to organize these matches. »
Players from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, the West Indies and Zimbabwe have also tested positive in preparation for or during the tournament, which runs until February 5 at 10 venues across four Caribbean islands. New Zealand opted to skip the competition due to quarantine restrictions at home.
Canada played last Tuesday in Trinidad and Tobago, losing to Ireland by 94 points in the Plate game in Tarouba.
Canada found themselves in the consolation round after losing Group A games to the United Arab Emirates, England and defending champions Bangladesh in St. Kitts and Nevis.
The top two teams from the four first-round groups qualified for the Super League while the other 12 moved on to Plate play in the tournament.
Canada, which beat Argentina, Bermuda and the United States to qualify, was in its fifth straight appearance – eighth overall – at the tournament. His best performance was 11th in 2010.
—
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on January 28, 2022.
“Coffeeaholic. Lifelong alcohol fanatic. Typical travel expert. Prone to fits of apathy. Internet trailblazer.”