England tour to South Africa set to go ahead – report

Government is likely to give the proposed England tour to South Africa, according to a report by ESPNCricinfo.

The 50-over world champions were one of the Proteas’ guests in the previous home summer, where they played four Tests, three One Day Internationals (ODI) and as many T20 Internationals.

Green light for England tour to South Africa 

With as many limited-overs internationals as the last tour planned for the upcoming summer, there is a major hurdle that can potentially prevent England’s visit.

The United Kingdom remains in the list of countries deemed “high risk” in South Africa’s efforts to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, as the publication reports, the tour will be confirmed in the coming days after the South African government decided to give the green light for it to go ahead.

Should the tour proceed, it will be the first time the Proteas take to the field since hosting Australia in a limited-overs tour between February and March.

Potential financial relief for CSA

The country’s strict lockdown, along with a much-documented internal crisis at Cricket South Africa (CSA) has also meant that no competitive top-level action has been able to take place for over six months.

This has placed significant strain on CSA’s finances, with not much revenue generated for the best part of the year.

England’s limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan said his side is determined to hold their end of the deal.

“There is a huge responsibility not just to get to your home country’s fixtures underway, but a huge responsibility to facilitate other countries around the world,” Morgan said at a charity event. “We will do what we can to try and get cricket back on, because it means a huge amount for people in lockdown in their own countries, and also for Cricket South Africa financially.”

England players and technical staff are expected to arrive in South Africa on 17 November, and all matches in the tour will take place in the Western Cape.