On Tuesday, June 06, the England cricket fraternity were dealt with a massive blow. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced that three players and four management members from England’s ODI squad have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
As soon as the news of the five members testing positive for Covid-19 was revealed, all the members of the squad and the management who came in close contact were asked to isolate immediately. The same also resulted in ECB naming a fresh 18-member squad for the upcoming ODI series against Pakistan.
Notably, England is scheduled to square off against Pakistan in three One Day Internationals followed by as many T20 Internationals, starting from July 8 in Cardiff. The new 18-member ODI squad led by Ben Stokes came as a shock for many. There were many in the cricket fraternity who were expecting Alex Hales to make a comeback in the English team.
Hales was an important part of the English setup till 2019. However, the batsman was ousted from the team after his drug report came positive on the eve of the 2019 World Cup. Since then, Hales has churned out performances after performances in the domestic circuit.
“So No Alex Hales. That must be the end of his international career then. I find it very sad that someone who made a huge mistake but was punished can’t be given another go. We all mistakes every week! Those that say they don’t are lying,” Michael Vaughan tweeted.
