India's itinerary in Australia dictated by COVID-19 policy

[Junaids]

I'm not sure whether anyone has noticed, but the revised itinerary for the Indian tour of Australia has ended up being completely defined by state Coronavirus policy.

If we exempt Victoria (Melbourne) which has done better than any other place in the world at taming a major outbreak of Coronavirus (100+ days of lockdown leading to barely any daily community transmission),then there is a clear pattern in Australia:

LABOUR STATES (Western Australia and Queensland) have set a goal of complete elimination of Coronavirus. They have not just got closed international borders, but closed domestic borders too, and the result is that life and economic activity are practically normal. Masks are neither required nor worn, and only the international and interstate tourism sectors of the economy are damaged. Sports events such as the recent AFL Grand Final take place with virtually fully stadia, like in New Zealand, but minimal risk.

LIBERAL STATES (South Australia, New South Wales and Tasmania) have aimed only to suppress rather than eliminate the virus. Like the other states, they rely upon mandatory 14 day $2800 supervised hotel quarantine from overseas arrivals to keep the virus out of the community, and they then leave interstate travel largely intact, and rely upon aggressive testing and contact tracing to put out outbreaks before they spread.

The theory is that the Liberal states would suffer less economic damage but the Labour states would have fewer Coronavirus outbreaks. The reality is that the Labour states have actually suffered less economic damage, and that their tourist sectors have done better than most overseas. This is because Australians are banned from overseas travel until the Pandemic ends, and in the WA tourist hub of Broome and the Queensland tourist hub of Cairns, travelers from the state capital are taking holidays there because they can't travel overseas or even interstate and so Broome and Cairns are relatively OK considering a pandemic is in full swing.

This has now determined how the itinerary for the Indian tour has had to be rewritten.

Australia requires mandatory 14 days supervised hotel quarantine for all arrivals from overseas - including the IPL. The one place where this was executed laxly was Melbourne, which led to a second wave which caused 90% of the country's Coronavirus deaths.

The traditional starting points of tours to Australia are Perth and Brisbane. Both states told Cricket Australia and the BCCI that their teams are welcome to arrive there but would be required to undertake their 14 days of mandatory hotel quarantine, with no exemption to leave the hotel premises until their quarantine was complete.

New South Wales and South Australia have offered less strict quarantine, including the right to travel to and train at cricket grounds during the quarantine period, and so the tour's itinerary has been changed, with Queensland ceasing to host the beginning of the tour.

There are now:

7 matches in New South Wales (and its enclave the Australian Capital Territory).

1 Test in Adelaide

1 Test in Melbourne

1 Test in Brisbane (which may not take place, as the border to New South Wales is currently closed, with 14 days mandatory hotel quarantine upon arrival in Queensland) The Sydney Test ends on 11 January and the Brisbane one is scheduled for 15 January - the Brisbane one will clearly not take place unless NSW improves its performance in eliminating community transmission of Coronavirus.

 

[Varun]

I'm just glad we're playing international cricket after heck of a long time.

 

[hoshiarpurexpress]

I'm not sure whether anyone has noticed, but the revised itinerary for the Indian tour of Australia has ended up being completely defined by state Coronavirus policy.

If we exempt Victoria (Melbourne) which has done better than any other place in the world at taming a major outbreak of Coronavirus (100+ days of lockdown leading to barely any daily community transmission),then there is a clear pattern in Australia:

LABOUR STATES (Western Australia and Queensland) have set a goal of complete elimination of Coronavirus. They have not just got closed international borders, but closed domestic borders too, and the result is that life and economic activity are practically normal. Masks are neither required nor worn, and only the international and interstate tourism sectors of the economy are damaged. Sports events such as the recent AFL Grand Final take place with virtually fully stadia, like in New Zealand, but minimal risk.

LIBERAL STATES (South Australia, New South Wales and Tasmania) have aimed only to suppress rather than eliminate the virus. Like the other states, they rely upon mandatory 14 day $2800 supervised hotel quarantine from overseas arrivals to keep the virus out of the community, and they then leave interstate travel largely intact, and rely upon aggressive testing and contact tracing to put out outbreaks before they spread.

The theory is that the Liberal states would suffer less economic damage but the Labour states would have fewer Coronavirus outbreaks. The reality is that the Labour states have actually suffered less economic damage, and that their tourist sectors have done better than most overseas. This is because Australians are banned from overseas travel until the Pandemic ends, and in the WA tourist hub of Broome and the Queensland tourist hub of Cairns, travelers from the state capital are taking holidays there because they can't travel overseas or even interstate and so Broome and Cairns are relatively OK considering a pandemic is in full swing.

This has now determined how the itinerary for the Indian tour has had to be rewritten.

Australia requires mandatory 14 days supervised hotel quarantine for all arrivals from overseas - including the IPL. The one place where this was executed laxly was Melbourne, which led to a second wave which caused 90% of the country's Coronavirus deaths.

The traditional starting points of tours to Australia are Perth and Brisbane. Both states told Cricket Australia and the BCCI that their teams are welcome to arrive there but would be required to undertake their 14 days of mandatory hotel quarantine, with no exemption to leave the hotel premises until their quarantine was complete.

New South Wales and South Australia have offered less strict quarantine, including the right to travel to and train at cricket grounds during the quarantine period, and so the tour's itinerary has been changed, with Queensland ceasing to host the beginning of the tour.

There are now:

7 matches in New South Wales (and its enclave the Australian Capital Territory).

1 Test in Adelaide

1 Test in Melbourne

1 Test in Brisbane (which may not take place, as the border to New South Wales is currently closed, with 14 days mandatory hotel quarantine upon arrival in Queensland) The Sydney Test ends on 11 January and the Brisbane one is scheduled for 15 January - the Brisbane one will clearly not take place unless NSW improves its performance in eliminating community transmission of Coronavirus.

Thankfully no Christmas Island for Indians.
I don’t see tickets to MCG yet the plan is for 25000 people. Hopefully get to go.

 

[hoshiarpurexpress]

Australia-India Boxing Day Test will be celebrated after coronavirus deprived Melbourne of sport
In a New York minute, the joyous news that it was possible 25,000 people could attend each day of the Boxing Day Test degenerated into a squabble about the allocation of cricket's golden tickets.

On one side are the Veruca Salts of the MCC Members demanding value for their subscriptions after an AFL-free winter; on the other the Augustus Gloops of the outer whose presence lends the occasion its boisterous soundtrack as the beer cup snakes lengthen.

The difficulty of determining which of the usual 80,000 backsides will occupy the 25,000 suitably distanced seats is further complicated by the entitlements of the Mike Teavees of the corporate sector.

Yet rather than unseemly, this familiar cultural clash about access to a major Melbourne sporting event seems as comforting as the roar that will echo around the MCG when the first Boxing Day wicket falls.

Even before the old Members Pavilion was replaced, the MCG was largely defined by its vast capacity and consequent acoustics rather than its now mostly functional grandstands and unremarkable aesthetic.

Crowds of 25,000 that would fill smaller venues rattle around in the cavernous confines of the 'G where thousands of empty seats can create the false impression a relatively well-attended contest has been forsaken.

But assuming Melbourne's next wave is Mexican and not COVID-related, on Boxing Day the MCG will for once seem quarter-filled rather than three quarters empty despite the gaps between patrons.
Thus the second Test against India will be a symbolic moment of sports viewing liberation in the self-proclaimed sporting capital; the first "mass" celebrated in nine months in Melbourne's sporting cathedral since the wonderful Women's T20 World Cup viewed by 86,000 spectators preceded a winter in sporting purgatory.

Competing forces will argue Boxing Day crowds are possible because of the stout efforts of Victorian Government officials who have reduced case numbers from a Bradmanesque average to a more manageable McGrathian number, despite the bungling of the same officials or in spite of the jeering that has come across state borders.

But however you spin it, Boxing Day 2020 presents as not merely a highly anticipated Test against a richly talented Indian men's team. It will usher the return of some kind of sports viewing normality to a city where major events were, before the pandemic, considered a right rather than a privilege.
Melbourne desperate for sport

Melbourne desperate for sport

While Melburnians have slowly become accustomed to the deprivation of their sports viewing rituals throughout the winter, two abject experiences near the tail end of the COVID-19 drought will make Boxing Day even sweeter.

Last weekend's AFL grand final in Brisbane was — quite literally — a glowing success, given the gladiatorial contest and the energetic, laser-lit half-time performance (as opposed to the rather tame pre-game karaoke).

In a year when merely staging games required the kind of logistics traditionally reserved for military invasions and Rebecca Judd's Christmas parties, the Gabba grand final provided far more than a pale imitation of the real thing.

But the night timeslot meant there was an almost funereal atmosphere in locked-down Melbourne throughout the day, with Richmond Tigers fans confined to their lairs and no pre-game partying possible with pubs, restaurants and cafés closed, and household visits severely limited.

This made it impossible to assess what a night or twilight grand final would be like in Melbourne — although should a 7:30pm start be preceded by large gatherings in hotels and backyard barbecues, I would suggest the correct answer is "drunk".

While those in other states might bemoan Melbourne's sense of AFL grand final entitlement, the long pause was a kind of requiem for a city mourning its lost sporting soul.

Melbourne Cup day will present differently. There will be no soapie stars strutting in marquees or sozzled blokes in nun's habits and footy shorts on the Flemington lawns, but there will be the chance to congregate in small numbers to watch the race off-course.

Quite understandably this Melbourne spring carnival has failed to gain momentum. Never has it been more apparent that it is the social rituals rather than the racing itself that elevates the month-long event.

So where usually the Melbourne Cup is the exclamation mark at the end of a series of racing-themed parties, this one will be somehow detached and discordant.

Cricket, however, has found its summer rhythm. The women's internationals and WBBL have enjoyed some welcome clean air, while the Sheffield Shield has already thrown Western Australian prodigy Cameron Green into the Test team mix.

In that regard, the tour game between India and Australia A in Sydney could be as useful for the home team in finalising selection as it is for the tourists in aiding acclimatisation.

The now unusual back-ending of Test matches into the new year — hosted by Sydney (January 7-11) and Brisbane (January 15-19) — is also welcome for those whose idea of holiday heaven is a poolside banana lounge and ABC Grandstand cricket on the radio.

It all seems nice and soothing, and normal — nothing more so than the prospect of sports-hungry Melburnians fighting tooth and nail for the big game tickets they consider their birthright.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10...st-at-mcg-to-be-celebrated-even-more/12827736

 

[hoshiarpurexpress]

seems like Australian media is hyping up Team India too much this time...
I have a feeling they may disappoint this time because Warner and Smith will run riot.
Hopefully my feeling is wrong.

 

[Junaids]

The Queensland government has just kept the border closed for a further month to anyone who has been in Sydney in the last 14 days.

This is due to the failure of the NSW government to eliminate all untraced community transmission cases for a period of 28 days. (I presume that those of you in India, Pakistan, the UK and the USA cannot imagine such a luxury!)

It further reduces the likelihood of the Brisbane Test being allowed to take place, given that neither side would have served 14 days supervised hotel quarantine since the Sydney Test.

 

[hoshiarpurexpress]

Queensland borders will open to NSW, except Greater Sydney, from November 3
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10...ovid-coronavirus-reopening-nsw-close/12802652

Looks like Brisbane test will go ahead smoothly. I did not read anything about Quarantine requirements from the ABC article.

 

[ShoonyaSifar]

Last time it was some fake crowd numbers and TV ratings. This time it will be Corona.

Like the last time (and as always), will be a great tour, though our chances of winning are not even 20% (Kohli's complete lack of faith in young players being the primary reason)

 

[Junaids]

Queensland borders will open to NSW, except Greater Sydney, from November 3
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10...ovid-coronavirus-reopening-nsw-close/12802652

Looks like Brisbane test will go ahead smoothly. I did not read anything about Quarantine requirements from the ABC article.

You do realise that it’s in the headline of the article you linked?

 

[Bhaijaan]

Thanks to CA and Australian government for making all the arrangements. Looking forward to some hard fought cricket. India-Australia rarely disappoints and has become the most iconic rivalry in Cricket.

 

[hoshiarpurexpress]

You do realise that it’s in the headline of the article you linked?

There is no mention of Quarantine requirement for Sydney.. except Greater Sydney.
Did a bit more digging, at queensland health website it states that 32 LGAs are not allowed, rest are in.
SCG is in Moore Park, and is not a listed LGA.
https://www.qld.gov.au/health/condi...ovid-19/current-status/urgent-covid-19-update

 

[angrypathan]

There is no mention of Quarantine requirement for Sydney.. except Greater Sydney.
Did a bit more digging, at queensland health website it states that 32 LGAs are not allowed, rest are in.
SCG is in Moore Park, and is not a listed LGA.
https://www.qld.gov.au/health/condi...ovid-19/current-status/urgent-covid-19-update

Moore Park is part of Greater Sydney. It falls under the Sydney LGA

 

[hoshiarpurexpress]

Moore Park is part of Greater Sydney. It falls under the Sydney LGA

the messaging is either very confusing or pretty straighforward.. this is the info on that website
"Residents of New South Wales, except those in the 32 Local Government Areas (LGAs) which have been declared hotspot in greater Sydney, will be allowed to enter Queensland from 1am on Tuesday, November 3, 2020."
and Moore Park is not listed on that.

 

[angrypathan]

the messaging is either very confusing or pretty straighforward.. this is the info on that website
"Residents of New South Wales, except those in the 32 Local Government Areas (LGAs) which have been declared hotspot in greater Sydney, will be allowed to enter Queensland from 1am on Tuesday, November 3, 2020."
and Moore Park is not listed on that.

Yeah it's confusing, but Moore Park is a suburb, not a Local Government Area. It falls under the Sydney LGA. Those 32 LGAs pretty much encompass all of Greater Sydney

 

[Convict]

[MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] - as a sandgroper I can tell you that McGowan's approach is about state parochialism and not labour/liberal

 

[Junaids]

[MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] - as a sandgroper I can tell you that McGowan's approach is about state parochialism and not labour/liberal

To be frank, I have had to eat my metaphorical hat during this Pandemic.

No doctor - including me - would have advocated closed borders before this Pandemic. The WHO did not.

But the reason why Australia and New Zealand have avoided the Pandemic is closed international borders, supported by mandatory hotel quarantine and closed domestic borders.

Think of when those 3 African girls returned from their furtive trip to Melbourne to Queensland by sneaking through Sydney Airport, when Queensland was open to Sydneysiders.

It was because so few people were travelling across state borders that they were quickly picked up and isolated. But they seeded the SW Brisbane prison cluster.

McGowan may be parochial - even though he's from Casino in NSW - but he's going to regret opening up his borders. NSW and SA are not committed to near-elimination, they rely upon suppressing outbreaks, and sooner or later their luck will run out. After all, the entire Victorian pandemic came from one single person breaching hotel quarantine. ONE!

 

[hoshiarpurexpress]

Indians are thankful that they are not sent to Christmas Island.
Outer suburbs of Sydney are much better sight than that.

 

[Oxfordchamp]

Indians are thankful that they are not sent to Christmas Island.
Outer suburbs of Sydney are much better sight than that.

They are staying at the Pull man hotel with Virat getting a special penthouse suite..

 

[Junaids]

They are not staying in Sydney.

They are staying 45 minutes west of Sydney at the 2000 Olympic Games complex, which was chosen because:

1. Nobody goes there, so it's easy to make it biosecure.
2. It has hotels, and they are staying at a nice one - the Pullman.
3. They can walk to gym facilities and the football field, where they are practising.

They are under armed guard, not to protect them from the public but to protect the public from them, in case any of them wanted to go out to the shops or a restaurant.

We have just seen the West Indies team breach their biosecure bubble in Christchurch by eating together - the Indians are supposed to be sticking to small groups of players allowed to mingle together.

 

[Junaids]

Incidentally, there's still currently the same problem: anyone who has been in Greater Sydney - even Olympic Park - is banned from entering Queensland for 14 days after exiting Greater Sydney.

Either the NSW government is going to have to lift its game with the pandemic, or the Fourth Test will have to be relocated.

 

[Junaids]

They are staying at the Pull man hotel with Virat getting a special penthouse suite..

The Indian media has got a bit confused about rugby and rugby league.

The Pullman is where the NSW Blues rugby union (posh private school boys) team is often based.

The room that Kohli has been given is the one where Freddy Fittler has stayed. He played rugby league (blue collar "working class" game), had the best ground kicking game I've ever seen in a five eighth, and was the world's highest paid player when he played for Sydney City Roosters (the actual Eastern Suburbs team).

Basically this is not some prestigious thing like the best suite at the Park Hyatt at Circular Quay. This is a very mainstream stadium hotel.

 

[hoshiarpurexpress]

Pullman is upscale chain. But i think living in greater sydney is safer for Indian players.
This tour will generate estimated 300 Million dollars for CA, good to see them pulling all stops
as mentioned in this article from Cricbuzz :

https://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-ne...-kohli-ajinkya-rahane-ravi-ashwin-cricbuzzcom

CA pulling out all stops to ensure India 'enjoy' Australia tour





Cricket Australia are planning to pull out all stops to make sure that the Indian team gets to "enjoy rather than having to endure" their two-month tour. Virat Kohli & Co landed in Sydney on Thursday (November 12) evening, two days after the IPL final. The 32-member squad along with the support staff will spend their first two weeks Down Under in quarantine though they'll be allowed to train and go through their routines. Upon completion of those 14 days, the Indians are likely to be allowed a significant amount of freedom to move around. The extent of that freedom though is likely to vary as they travel interstate with some centres like Adelaide and Melbourne still expected to enforce relatively stricter measures.

The Indian contingent along with the Australian players and coaches who were in the IPL arrived at the hotel together in four separate buses. They were escorted and greeted there by army and police personnel along with the hotel security staff. The group included the wives and kids of R Ashwin, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. Jetlagged yet relieved after a 15-hour long flight from Dubai, they will now quarantine in their respective rooms while having to undergo their first Covid-19 tests on Friday (November 13).

The first few days of their stay in Sydney are expected to be about rest and recuperation with a lot of measures in place to ensure their health and safety. They include not being allowed to enter anyone else's room in the hotel. This protocol is likely to be in place for the entirety of their quarantine period. Some other leniencies and freedoms within the hotel's confines are expected to come about once everyone on tour has cleared their initial Covid-19 tests without a single positive case. These will include ordering Uber Eats or getting any other form of food delivery. For now, they can indulge in room service within the hotel though they'll have to collect and leave their plates at the door. They will also only be provided with wooden cutlery.

The Indians are expected to start training post Saturday (November 14) and there'll be no restriction on how many of them can train together. It's learnt that the message from the team management to the players is to follow every health safety protocol in place diligently without any slip-ups to ensure that they are in a position to move around a bit more freely once the quarantine period concludes a day before the first ODI on November 27 at the SCG.

The Australian players within the bubble, including Aaron Finch, Steve Smith, David Warner and Pat Cummins, met on a Zoom call on Friday afternoon with the rest of their teammates and the coaching staff led by Justin Langer. Finch & Co are expected to resume training next week under the watchful eyes of assistant coaches Andrew McDonald and Sridharan Sriram with Ricky Ponting also helping out.

CA meanwhile are pleased with having managed to come up with a "best case" scenario alongside the New South Wales government for the Indian team. It's likely that there might have been stricter quarantine restrictions in place if the tour had started in Queensland like it'd seemed it would for a long while before Sydney entered the fray to save the day. So having now safely brought the Indians and the Aussies in the IPL over to Sydney, the focus for those in-charge of organising the tour within CA is to make sure that everyone stays safe and out of harm's way for the next two months.

It still remains unclear just how free the Indian players, coaches and families would be to move around the cities following the 14-day quarantine. For starters, they are expected to shift out of their quarantine hotel and move into one that's closer to the city and one that they're used to staying in. The CA has been developing the protocols alongside Dr Cassy Workman, who's an infectious diseases expert and was an advisor for the biosecurity plan that the National Rugby League (NRL) had in place.

"We need to clearly make sure that from a biosecurity perspective, we are minimising the risk. That said, at this time, Australia is very fortunate to be one of the safest places in the world. So, once they're clear through their quarantine, we've got measures in place which are risk-weighted to ensure that everyone is kept safe, but players will enjoy a level of freedom in Australia and those are very well documented between CA and the BCCI," is how CA's interim CEO Nick Hockley had explained the measures that could be in place post the quarantine period.

"Once people have completed their 14-day quarantine and been cleared by NSW health they are free to move around NSW," is what Stuart Ayres, NSW's tourism minister who was instrumental in getting the sanctions, had said two weeks ago when the schedule was finally confirmed.

The Indian team management for now is confident that they'll be allowed to move about more freely once the series is officially underway. The likely restrictions though are expected to be similar to those that the players in the Sheffield Shield hub in Adelaide had to contend with. That could mean being able to get takeaways and even dining in at venues which provide outdoor seating but not being able to enter cafes, restaurants and pubs. With these too, the final outcome will depend on the respective state governments and how they see it fit to enforce regulations in order to keep everyone safe.

While the first Sydney leg of the tour seems to have taken some definite shape, the logistics of the Indian team's visits to other states continue to be monitored and worked out. Over in Adelaide, it's still not clear whether Virat Kohli & Co will be staying at the Adelaide Oval Hotel which opened in September and has already housed a few of the Australian players who returned from the tour of England. Not to forget more on-field matters like if the SACA needs to arrange for net bowlers for the visitors when they land here later next month.

Importantly, what is learnt so far is that the Indian team management is very happy with the way they've been taken care of ever since they landed in Sydney, whether it be at the airport or upon their arrival at the hotel. And that for now they're more than happy to just wear their jet lags off.

 

[Oxfordchamp]

Pullman is upscale chain. But i think living in greater sydney is safer for Indian players.
This tour will generate estimated 300 Million dollars for CA, good to see them pulling all stops
as mentioned in this article from Cricbuzz :

https://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-ne...-kohli-ajinkya-rahane-ravi-ashwin-cricbuzzcom

CA pulling out all stops to ensure India 'enjoy' Australia tour





Cricket Australia are planning to pull out all stops to make sure that the Indian team gets to "enjoy rather than having to endure" their two-month tour. Virat Kohli & Co landed in Sydney on Thursday (November 12) evening, two days after the IPL final. The 32-member squad along with the support staff will spend their first two weeks Down Under in quarantine though they'll be allowed to train and go through their routines. Upon completion of those 14 days, the Indians are likely to be allowed a significant amount of freedom to move around. The extent of that freedom though is likely to vary as they travel interstate with some centres like Adelaide and Melbourne still expected to enforce relatively stricter measures.

The Indian contingent along with the Australian players and coaches who were in the IPL arrived at the hotel together in four separate buses. They were escorted and greeted there by army and police personnel along with the hotel security staff. The group included the wives and kids of R Ashwin, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. Jetlagged yet relieved after a 15-hour long flight from Dubai, they will now quarantine in their respective rooms while having to undergo their first Covid-19 tests on Friday (November 13).

The first few days of their stay in Sydney are expected to be about rest and recuperation with a lot of measures in place to ensure their health and safety. They include not being allowed to enter anyone else's room in the hotel. This protocol is likely to be in place for the entirety of their quarantine period. Some other leniencies and freedoms within the hotel's confines are expected to come about once everyone on tour has cleared their initial Covid-19 tests without a single positive case. These will include ordering Uber Eats or getting any other form of food delivery. For now, they can indulge in room service within the hotel though they'll have to collect and leave their plates at the door. They will also only be provided with wooden cutlery.

The Indians are expected to start training post Saturday (November 14) and there'll be no restriction on how many of them can train together. It's learnt that the message from the team management to the players is to follow every health safety protocol in place diligently without any slip-ups to ensure that they are in a position to move around a bit more freely once the quarantine period concludes a day before the first ODI on November 27 at the SCG.

The Australian players within the bubble, including Aaron Finch, Steve Smith, David Warner and Pat Cummins, met on a Zoom call on Friday afternoon with the rest of their teammates and the coaching staff led by Justin Langer. Finch & Co are expected to resume training next week under the watchful eyes of assistant coaches Andrew McDonald and Sridharan Sriram with Ricky Ponting also helping out.

CA meanwhile are pleased with having managed to come up with a "best case" scenario alongside the New South Wales government for the Indian team. It's likely that there might have been stricter quarantine restrictions in place if the tour had started in Queensland like it'd seemed it would for a long while before Sydney entered the fray to save the day. So having now safely brought the Indians and the Aussies in the IPL over to Sydney, the focus for those in-charge of organising the tour within CA is to make sure that everyone stays safe and out of harm's way for the next two months.

It still remains unclear just how free the Indian players, coaches and families would be to move around the cities following the 14-day quarantine. For starters, they are expected to shift out of their quarantine hotel and move into one that's closer to the city and one that they're used to staying in. The CA has been developing the protocols alongside Dr Cassy Workman, who's an infectious diseases expert and was an advisor for the biosecurity plan that the National Rugby League (NRL) had in place.

"We need to clearly make sure that from a biosecurity perspective, we are minimising the risk. That said, at this time, Australia is very fortunate to be one of the safest places in the world. So, once they're clear through their quarantine, we've got measures in place which are risk-weighted to ensure that everyone is kept safe, but players will enjoy a level of freedom in Australia and those are very well documented between CA and the BCCI," is how CA's interim CEO Nick Hockley had explained the measures that could be in place post the quarantine period.

"Once people have completed their 14-day quarantine and been cleared by NSW health they are free to move around NSW," is what Stuart Ayres, NSW's tourism minister who was instrumental in getting the sanctions, had said two weeks ago when the schedule was finally confirmed.

The Indian team management for now is confident that they'll be allowed to move about more freely once the series is officially underway. The likely restrictions though are expected to be similar to those that the players in the Sheffield Shield hub in Adelaide had to contend with. That could mean being able to get takeaways and even dining in at venues which provide outdoor seating but not being able to enter cafes, restaurants and pubs. With these too, the final outcome will depend on the respective state governments and how they see it fit to enforce regulations in order to keep everyone safe.

While the first Sydney leg of the tour seems to have taken some definite shape, the logistics of the Indian team's visits to other states continue to be monitored and worked out. Over in Adelaide, it's still not clear whether Virat Kohli & Co will be staying at the Adelaide Oval Hotel which opened in September and has already housed a few of the Australian players who returned from the tour of England. Not to forget more on-field matters like if the SACA needs to arrange for net bowlers for the visitors when they land here later next month.

Importantly, what is learnt so far is that the Indian team management is very happy with the way they've been taken care of ever since they landed in Sydney, whether it be at the airport or upon their arrival at the hotel. And that for now they're more than happy to just wear their jet lags off.

when their survival and well being depends on this tour, why not..Anyone in their place would do the same...

 

[Junaids]

when their survival and well being depends on this tour, why not..Anyone in their place would do the same...

Let's hope that they are adhering to requirements better than upon arrival.

The Australia team is socializing with one another via Zoom, and not going into one another's rooms, as per the quarantine rules.

Whereas India did this as soon as they arrived! They only got away with it because it was treated as Day -14 for quarantine purposes anyway!

 

[hoshiarpurexpress]

Let's hope that they are adhering to requirements better than upon arrival.

The Australia team is socializing with one another via Zoom, and not going into one another's rooms, as per the quarantine rules.

Whereas India did this as soon as they arrived! They only got away with it because it was treated as Day -14 for quarantine purposes anyway!

View attachment 104567

They travelled as one single contingent on a charter flight. Smith and other Aussie players from ipl were also on the same one. All of them from one bio secure bubble to another.
In the hotel I think they will not be allowed to be in each other’s room.
But still good to see them getting treated well rather then being put in average 3 class accommodations. Imagine the outrage if that had happened.

 

[wrongun]

https://www.smh.com.au/national/sou...7-locally-acquired-cases-20201116-p56euq.html

Just an update- NSW & Victoria keeping borders to Adelaide open for now. No risk to tour schedule at this stage.

 

[jino]

Let's hope that they are adhering to requirements better than upon arrival.


The Australia team is socializing with one another via Zoom, and not going into one another's rooms, as per the quarantine rules.

Whereas India did this as soon as they arrived! They only got away with it because it was treated as Day -14 for quarantine purposes anyway!

View attachment 104567

This pic is from Dubai prior to their departure.

 

[Last Monetarist]

Assuming that the refugee camps at Christmas Island are being spruced up a bit now given these new cases in South Australia will inevitably lead to the relocation/cancellation of the pink ball test.

 

[MenInG]

Adelaide has seen a fresh outbreak of coronavirus cases forcing Australia Test captain Tim Paine among others to go in self-isolation. However, Cricket Australia has assured that as of now, the first Test against India, scheduled to be played in Adelaide next month will go on as per the plans.

According to a report in the BBC, South Australian authorities have said that a “dangerous situation” is developing with 17 cases being reported on Monday, the state’s first outbreak since April.

As a result, other states like Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory have closed their borders with South Australia. Additionally, a 14-day quarantine has been imposed on all visitors from Adelaide from 11:59 pm (local time) Monday.

“There is ongoing monitoring but that’s the end of the story,” Sydney Morning Herald quoted a CA spokeswoman as saying on the status of the Adelaide Test between India and Australia.

Should the situation spiral out of control, it may end up affecting the Australian summer of cricket that includes the high-profile series against India.

Sheffield Shield, Australia’s top-flight first-class competition, is currently underway. Australia Test captain Tim Paine, who represents Tasmania, alongside teammate Matthew Wade have been asked to self-isolate as they competed in the opening round of the domestic competition in South Australia.

“… Tasmanian Tigers Sheffield Shield squad are self-isolating as we wait for further advice from Public Health,” a Cricket Tasmania spokesman said. “Players and staff have COVID-19 swab tests scheduled for later today.”

The Indian cricket team is currently undergoing a two-week isolation but have been allowed to train.

The isolation period will end a day before the ODI series is scheduled to get underway from November 27.

During their time in Australia, India will take part in three ODIs, as many T20Is and a four-match Test series.


https://www.cricketcountry.com/news...st-captain-tim-paine-in-self-isolation-957285

 

[Junaids]

I've written in the other thread - the Adelaide Test is not going to happen.

It's due to start in 31 days - but travel restrictions to and from hotspots are usually for 2 x 14 day incubation periods, which is 28 days.

Here in Australia we don't mess around with this virus. We close our domestic borders to hotspot cities and we lockdown affected areas. That's why we have controlled it so well, and why our economic activity is virtually at normal levels.

The South Australia Cricket Association is holding an emergency meeting tomorrow, and will almost certainly request to reverse the schedule so that they can host the Fourth Test instead of the First Test.

India and Australia are undertaking their quarantine in New South Wales, and to be honest that's where the entire series should be held, behind closed doors.

 

[wrongun]

I've written in the other thread - the Adelaide Test is not going to happen.

It's due to start in 31 days - but travel restrictions to and from hotspots are usually for 2 x 14 day incubation periods, which is 28 days.

Here in Australia we don't mess around with this virus. We close our domestic borders to hotspot cities and we lockdown affected areas. That's why we have controlled it so well, and why our economic activity is virtually at normal levels.

The South Australia Cricket Association is holding an emergency meeting tomorrow, and will almost certainly request to reverse the schedule so that they can host the Fourth Test instead of the First Test.

India and Australia are undertaking their quarantine in New South Wales, and to be honest that's where the entire series should be held, behind closed doors.

There have been exceptions made to border closure to keep sports such as NRL- in which ALL players, coaches etc totalling in the hundreds were allowed exemptions to travel across "closed" borders- as the clubs are within their own, self contained bubbles.

I would be a bit surprised if India were not granted similar waivers, provided they maintain their bubble.

 

[Junaids]

There have been exceptions made to border closure to keep sports such as NRL- in which ALL players, coaches etc totalling in the hundreds were allowed exemptions to travel across "closed" borders- as the clubs are within their own, self contained bubbles.

I would be a bit surprised if India were not granted similar waivers, provided they maintain their bubble.

They weren’t travelling from A to B to C to D.

The Aussie Rules teams did two weeks quarantine with their families in a Gold Coast hotel (in Queensland) then stayed in Queensland.

The itinerary assumes that the teams can move from Sydney to Adelaide to Melbourne to Sydney to Brisbane.

But that’s not a goal shared by the Victorian or Queensland governments.

And the Aussie team is no more welcome here in Queensland than the Indian one when they have just been in Sydney.

 

[CleverSir]

It will be interesting how the team handles isolation. We saw with Pakistan, towards the end of the England tour, there were tired minds. I hope the BCCI has a full plan and it goes well for them. I can't root for India but I do want the players to be healthy and do well mentally. It can be a drag being away from family. I haven't seen family in 10 months because of COVID, so I understand how difficult it can be.

 

[wrongun]

They weren’t travelling from A to B to C to D.

The Aussie Rules teams did two weeks quarantine with their families in a Gold Coast hotel (in Queensland) then stayed in Queensland.

The itinerary assumes that the teams can move from Sydney to Adelaide to Melbourne to Sydney to Brisbane.

But that’s not a goal shared by the Victorian or Queensland governments.

And the Aussie team is no more welcome here in Queensland than the Indian one when they have just been in Sydney.

Well we'll see if your doomsaying is as correct as your prediction as the entire financial collapse of Australian sport and your falsehood that Qld govt was punished by voters for allowing sport teams border exemptions- when they in fact expanded their # seats won by 20%...

 

[MenInG]

Cricket Australia confirms the following actions in light of state border closures following South Australia’s COVID-19 outbreak:

CA continues to monitor the situation in South Australia but remains committed to hosting the first Vodafone Test against India at the Adelaide Oval.

Players and staff from Western Australia, Tasmania and Queensland who are part of the Australian men’s Dettol One-Day International and Dettol Twenty20 International squads are traveling to Sydney today to commence their preparation for both series.

This decision was made after players returning from the Marsh Sheffield Shield hub in South Australia after the last round were subject to changes in border conditions by the aforementioned state governments.

The Adelaide Strikers and South Australia-based players from other KFC BBL squads are traveling to a training base in Coffs Harbour today.

This decision was taken after the Tasmanian government announced tighter border restrictions with South Australia.

The KFC Big Bash League is due to start in Hobart on Thursday, December 10. CA can confirm none of the players in Adelaide for the Marsh Sheffield Shield visited the “hot spots” identified by SA Health. CA has nonetheless instructed all players to undergo COVID-19 tests, with all results received thus far returning negative.

Nick Hockley, Cricket Australia’s Interim CEO, said today’s actions were taken to ensure the summer schedule would not be compromised by recently announced border restrictions.

“CA has taken a pro-active approach and mobilised a number of people across the country over the past 24 hours to shore up our men’s domestic and international schedules.

“I would like to thank the players and staff for their understanding regarding the changes to their travel schedules and for their commitment to ensuring the summer of cricket is a huge success.

“I would also like to thank the various leadership groups across Australian cricket for coming together over the past 48 hours and taking quick, decisive action – made possible by thorough, cross-department contingency planning.

“CA will continue to monitor the situation in South Australia and the resulting border restrictions around the country.

“As ever, we will remain agile in addressing the challenges presented by the pandemic and remain more confident than ever of hosting a safe and successful summer across all formats.”