England-South Africa ODI series called off after COVID-19 outbreak

The remainder of England’s limited overs tour of South Africa has been called off following the outbreak of COVID-19 among the camps and staff of both teams at their hotel.

The development came three days after the postponement of the opening ODI of the series, which was scheduled to take place at Newlands on Friday.

With the three-match series being part of the ICC Cricket Men's Super League, the boards will work together to determine if it can take place in the future.

Acting CEO of Cricket South Africa (CSA) Kugandrie Govender said: "The concern over the mental health impact of recent events on all involved is not one that we as CSA or the ECB take lightly and the decision to postpone the tour is the most responsible and reasonable course of action for us.

"I would like to thank the ECB for the continued positive relations, and we look forward to hosting the England team in the near future."

Meanwhile, ECB Chief Executive Officer Tom Harrison said: "We have always maintained that the welfare of our players and management is paramount. We were concerned about the potential impact that recent developments might have on the wellbeing of the touring party, and so after consultation with Cricket South Africa we have jointly made the decision to postpone the remaining matches in this Series, in best interest of the players' welfare.

The three T20Is were played as scheduled, but the three-match ODI series, which was to have started on Friday, was delayed three times in four days because of positive tests for Covid-19 in both squads.