Ashes 2021-22, Sydney Test: England to be without head coach Chris Silverwood due to COVID-19 close contact

England has not had the best of the tour of Australia this summer. Playing in the Ashes 2021-22, the visitors have lost the urn, trailing 0-3 in the five-Test series. Meanwhile, as things move to the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on January 5, England has suffered a setback in terms of its head coach Chris Silverwood.

Silverwood has come in contact with a COVID-19 person. Therefore, he has been put into isolation for ten days, ruling him out for the Sydney Test. As per reports, a family member of his happens to be COVID positive, while there have been seven COVID cases within England on this tour. However, none of the English players has tested COVID positive so far.

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Meanwhile, in Silverwood's absence, Graham Thorpe will be handling the coaching duties of the side. The English squad is expected to undergo a round of PCR tests on Thursday before both sides fly out to Sydney, Friday via a charter flight, where they will be staying in a hotel booked solely for the teams. There were some COVID scares in the English camp during the Boxing Day Test.

Day 2 of the Melbourne Test was delayed by 30 minutes. The English players underwent emergency COVID tests, and only after the entire squad tested negative was it decided that the play would continue. While the Victorian government loosened its stance on close contacts, the same can be expected in New South Wales, as the Test will continue even if more COVID cases pop up, while the remaining squad needs to test negative.

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In the meantime, Silverwood would be free to resume his duties for the Hobart Test on January 14, which is a day-night affair again. "We've seen through the last 18 months. I have to say I am so proud of the work of everybody involved, in particular thank the players and the governments and health departments across the country. We have to learn to live with this," Nick Hockley (Cricket Australia CEO) was quoted as saying, reports ESPNCricinfo.