Australia fast bowler Kane Richardson has been tested for coronavirus (COVID-19) after complaining of illness on Thursday night. Consequently, he could not travel with the rest of his teammates at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) for the ongoing first ODI against New Zealand. The result of the test is not out yet but the fast bowler has been quarantined as a precautionary measure.

Richardson recently returned from South Africa where Australia played the T20I and ODI series. In a statement, Cricket Australia has said the fast bowler was ruled out of Friday’s match after reporting a mild sore throat to medical staff a day before. The 29-year-old is reportedly feeling fine and will immediately come to the ground if tests return a negative result. The hosts have recalled Sean Abbott as a cover for Richardson. Abbott was part of Australia’s T20I squad that toured South Africa.

“Our medical staff are treating this as a typical throat infection but we are following Australian Government protocols that require us to keep Kane away from other members of the squad and perform the appropriate tests given he has returned from international travel in the last 14 days,” a Cricket Australia spokesperson said.

“Once we receive the results of the tests and Kane recovers in the next few days we expect he will re-join the team. We will not be making further comment until something changes,” the spokesperson added.

Women’s series called-off!

Meanwhile, Cricket Australia have called off the Australia women team’s tour of South Africa in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. The cricket board has also decided that Australia and New Zealand will play the three ODI matches in front of empty stands. Recently, one fan, who attended the final of the Women’s T20 World Cup at the MCG, was tested positive for coronavirus.

After the conclusion of the ODI series, Australia are set to travel to New Zealand for a T20 tour, which begins in Dunedin on March 24. However, New Zealand Cricket has stated that the series will go ahead as planned with fans permitted to attend.