Half of the England squad have been taken ill with a virus the day before the Test series against Pakistan
30 November 2022, 10:42
Half of the England squad have been taken ill with a virus the day before the Test series against Pakistan.
About eight of the 16 players, including captain Ben Stokes, and six support staff have stayed at the hotel in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, to rest.
England’s first Test in Pakistan, the first in 17 years, was due to start tomorrow but talks are now taking place about the possibility of postponing the first game by one day.
England had tried to mitigate the risk of issues in Pakistan and made additional preparations including hiring their own chef for the tour for the first time but a number of the squad were still struck down and remained at the hotel instead of taking part in an optional training session this morning.
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Discussions have taken place between the relevant governing bodies over the issue, with the match starting a day late being considered as a worse-case scenario contingency plan. If the game had been due to take place today it would need to be pushed back by 24-hours given the limited number of players fit enough to take part.
Batsman Joe Root says the illness doesn’t seem to be too serious.
In a media conference he replaced Ben Stokes and remained confident that the game will still go ahead.
He said: “As far as I’m aware, there are a few guys not feeling 100 per cent. I didn’t feel great yesterday but I woke up better today so hopefully it’s just a 24-hour virus and I don’t think it’s food poisoning or Covid or anything like that,
“I think it’s just one of those things that we’ve unfortunately picked up as a group – we’ve tried to do absolutely everything. We’ve prepared really well for this game and sometimes life throws things at you but we’ll do everything we can do be right tomorrow and be right and ready to go.”
