Karachi:Following advice from the Sindh Government late Thursday afternoon, the Pakistan Cricket Board, has made a decision to stage the upcoming Karachi HBL Pakistan Super League 2020 matches in front of empty National Stadium.

The decision will be enforced from Friday, 13 March, while for the Thursday, 12 March, fixture, the PCB and the Sindh Government have strongly advised the spectators to continue to take all necessary precautionary measures (reproduced below).

The precautionary decision has been made to better protect the health and safety of the spectators, players, officials and media.

The decision will not impact accredited commercial partners, media and other service providers, who will be allowed to enter the National Stadium. In addition, immediate families of the competing players and player support personnel as well as franchise owners will be allowed to attend matches.

In the meantime, the PCB has advised all players to avoid shaking hands and have also urged the fans not to approach the players for autographs, photographs and selfies.

In addition to this, the PCB has decided the sides will not be required to shake hands with each other or opposition in the lead up to and during the matches and use a fist bump / verbal greeting instead.

PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan said: “Health and safety is paramount and takes precedence over cricket. The PCB takes the health and safety of its players, spectators, officials, media, service providers and security personnel very seriously.

“Following the advisory from the Government of Sindh this evening, the PCB has taken this precautionary and preemptive measure which will result in matches taking place in front of empty stadium.

“We empathise with the Karachi fans who have been outstanding with their support in the earlier matches and during the hosting of eight HBLPSL matches last year. Once we received the advisory from the Government of Sindh, it was important for us to act quickly to ensure that the wellbeing of all concerned is better protected.

“The PCB has been regularly engaging with the teams and the players and have been updating them on matters. We have a duty of care to players and other stakeholders during this time; we would like to thank them for their continued trust and support.

“The initial 10 March decision to proceed with the Karachi leg of matches was taken following consultation with the Sindh Government and we have taken on board their latest advisory. We stated at the outset that we will work closely and take the lead from the local Governments.

“With regards to the remaining fixtures in Lahore, we are already in contact with the Punjab Government and will take on board its advisory in relation to the Lahore matches.

“With regards to the refunding of tickets, this will be in line with the ticketing policy and will be refunded through TCS and www.yayvo.com. Details in this regard will be shared in due course.”

ICC Medical Advisory Committee’s advisory:

· Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 per cent alcohol if soap and water are not available

· Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands

· Avoid close contact with sick people

· Avoid travel if you are sick

· If you have a cough or fever, then seek medical review

· Stay home when you are sick

· Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash

· Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

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England’s cricket team will refrain from taking selfies with fans and limit public engagements on their tour of Sri Lanka amid the global Coronavirus outbreak.

The team also asked “all supporters joining the tour to maintain good levels of hygiene” as advised by the World Health Organisation Britain’s National Health Service to avoid possible infection and spreading of illness in a statement released by the ECB on Wednesday.

“Following the world health agency’s advice, and in order to protect the players and, in turn, the integrity and continuation of the Sri Lanka Test tour, the team has put in place several precautions, leading to a number of normal activities being cancelled for the foreseeable future,” the statement said.

“England players and staff have been asked to avoid any unnecessary public engagements, and temporarily avoid casual supporter interaction such as selfies or autographs.

“Whilst we acknowledge that this will be disappointing for some supporters, we stress that this a measure to protect the ongoing wellbeing of the England Test squad and is a decision which has not been taken lightly.”

England players and staff will continue to replace handshakes with fist bumps in an attempt to minimise contact.

The ECB is expecting a large number of supporters to travel from the UK to Sri Lanka for the two-Test series starting in Galle on March 19 and urged them to follow public health guidelines to avoid the risk of infection and spreading the virus. These measures include washing hands with soap and water often and for at least 20 seconds, using hand sanitiser if soap and water are not available and coughing and sneezing into a tissue which should be thrown in the bin immediately before washing hands.

Fans travelling to Sri Lanka from the UK have also been urged to heed the suspension of visas on arrival in Colombo, and should instead secure them on-line before departure.

English county clubs Worcestershire and Surrey have cancelled their planned pre-season tours of Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively after conducting their own assessment of the risks associated with Coronavirus. However, the England team will continue to take guidance from the ECB, Sri Lankan authorities, UK Government agencies and the World Health Organisation.

Meanwhile, England have named their team for their final warm-up, a four-day fixture against a Sri Lanka Cricket Board President’s XI in Colombo, from Thursday.

Notably it includes Jack Leach, who was rested from England’s opening warm-up last week as he continues his recovery from the illnesses that plagued his tours of New Zealand and South Africa. With Stuart Broad and Matt Parkinson both sitting out, the XI could well prove to be the side that takes the field in next week’s first Test.

England team v SLBP XI 1 Dom Sibley, 2 Zak Crawley, 3 Joe Denly, 4 Joe Root, 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Ollie Pope, 7 Jos Buttler (wk), 8 Sam Curran, 9 Chris Woakes, 10 Dom Bess, 11 Jack Leach.

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