Cape Town: Judge Zak Yacoob, the chair of Cricket South Africa's (CSA) interim board, said that England abandoning the tour is not "in any way" their fault and went on to add that the protocols that they laid down have been "very good".
"What I want to negate is an idea that our provision of services was substandard and that there is any justification for the English saying they did not want to participate and go home. The facts are that ultimately, they were negative. We have gone into or protocols and we think that our protocols have been very good," Yacoob was quoted as saying during a virtual press conference on Thursday.
"There may have been an issue of psychological troubles. People may have felt nervous about false positives. Our position is that we do not wish to blame the English, but we wish to say absolutely and completely that any notion that they went away because it was in any way our fault, is completely wrong," he added.
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Earlier this week, England's ODI series against South Africa was called off due to concerns regarding the coronavirus. The first match of the ODI series was initially postponed ahead of the game after a home team player tested positive for coronavirus. On Sunday, the rearranged first ODI between England and South Africa was cancelled too as two members of the hotel staff tested positive for COVID-19.
England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Tuesday said that the team would depart from Cape Town on Thursday. Both boards will work together to determine when the three-match series, which forms part of the ICC Cricket Men's Super League, can take place in the future.
Yacoob even went on to say that they have been "managing the virus much better than England".
"There is an awkward narrative coming out that third world countries can't manage these things properly. I can say we have been managing the virus much better than England. There was some attempt to ensure that in relation with what happened with England, Sri Lanka should not come here. They are coming next week, I hope," he said.
Sri Lanka Cricket and CSA later on Thursday confirmed that the two-match Test Series scheduled to be played in Centurion and Johannesburg from December 26 will continue as planned.
