South Africa 'A' match in limbo Zimbabwe Cricket halts activities due to surging Covid-19 cases

The ongoing four-day match between hosts Zimbabwe A and their South Africa A counterparts has been disrupted after the government in Harare announced a new blanket ban on sport and other mass gatherings at the weekend in the wake of rising Covid-19 cases in the country.

The blanket ban means that Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) had to suspend all cricket activities‚ including the ongoing four-day match that started on Sunday in Takashinga.

ZC announced in a statement on Monday that it has in turn lodged an urgent appeal to the government through the Sports and Recreation Commission for permission to complete the match.

The tour started on May 29 and is expected to finish on June 16.

ZC also wants the relevant authorities to give the national team a waiver to continue with preparations for other upcoming international tours‚ with Zimbabwe expected to host Bangladesh at the end of the month.

“As we make this request‚ the health and safety of our players‚ support staff and our communities remains our top priority‚” reads the ZC statement.

“Having successfully hosted international and domestic tournaments at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic under the bio-secure environment – with the matches being played behind closed doors with no spectators allowed in the stadia and with all those directly involved undergoing several tests for the coronavirus and staying in secluded accommodation facilities – we believe we are well-equipped and experienced enough to safely resume with our cricket activities.”

Captain Zubayr Hamza’s South Africa A side is in Zimbabwe for four ODI matches and two four-day matches in Harare.

Hamza’s team won the ODI series 3-1 and is leading the two-match four-day series 1-0 after victory by an innings and 166 runs in the first match.

The second and final match started on Sunday and the South Africans were on 282 from 88.5 overs after they lost the toss were asked to bat first.