Australian batter Travis Head out of fourth Ashes Test after contracting Covid
The Aussie batsman had been due to fly from Melbourne to Sydney for the fourth Ashes Test against England.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Australian batsman Travis Head has been ruled out of the fourth Ashes Test in Sydney after testing positive to Covid-19.
The 28-year-old was due to fly from Melbourne to Sydney to take on England at the SCG on January 5.
In a statement released on Friday morning, Cricket Australia said Head tested positive after a routine PCR test and has been asymptomatic.
The batsman will now remain in isolation in Melbourne for seven days – per the Victorian Government’s current health requirements.
A Cricket Australia spokesperson said that the remainder of the Australian squad, their families and support staff underwent PCR and RAT tests on Friday morning local time.
Both the Australian and England squads are expected to separately travel to Sydney as planned today.
The spokesperson added: “As part of our testing procedures, we are PCR testing players, their families and our support staff daily.
“Unfortunately, Travis returned a positive Covid-19 result earlier today. Thankfully, he is asymptomatic at this stage.
“We anticipate that he will be available to play in the fifth Vodafone men’s Ashes Test in Hobart.”
Head is currently Australia’s leading run-scorer in the Ashes to date, scoring 248 runs at an average of 62.
The batsman could potentially be replaced by Usman Khawaja, whom he beat out for a spot in the Australia XI.
In the meantime, selectors have also added Mitchell Marsh, Nic Maddinson and Josh Inglis to the squad “as a precautionary measure”.
The news comes after England’s humiliation in Melbourne which saw Australia take an unassailable 3-0 series lead.
England’s collapse to 68 all out in the second innings of the Boxing Day Test was labelled “embarrassing” by a couple of former players and former Australia captain Ricky Ponting.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments