Ashes 2021: Sydney Test under scanner after match referee tests COVID-19 positive

The upcoming Sydney Ashes Test between Australia and England has come under the scanner after ICC match referee David Boon tested positive for COVID-19. The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday announced that Boon has returned positive COVID-19 result and will be replaced Steve Bernard for the fourth Ashes Test, beginning January 5 at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). This comes after New South Wales (NSW) on Wednesday reported a record surge in new COVID-19 cases in the state. 

According to reports, New South Wales reported more than 11,000 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, of which over 8,000 cases were reported from the Sydney metropolitan area, where the fourth Ashes Test is scheduled to be held. However, Cricket Australia (CA) CEO Nick Hockley has said that adequate plans have been set in place to safely conduct the fourth Ashes Test in Sydney. NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard also wants the Test match to go ahead as planned, calling it a "sacred one". 

The ongoing Ashes series has already suffered a lot from the pandemic. Earlier, several individuals from the touring England side, including staff and family members, tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the third day of play in Melbourne. England players were allowed to take the field after multiple RT-PCR tests produced negative results. Australian skipper Pat Cummins was ruled out of the second Test match in Adelaide after he was deemed a close contact of a person who tested positive for COVID-19. 

Ashes 2021-22

As far as the Ashes series is concerned, Australia has retained the cup by winning the first three games of the ongoing five-match bilateral competition. Australia won the first Ashes Test in Brisbane by 9 wickets and followed that up with another win in Adelaide by 275 runs. The home side then defeated England in the third Test match in Melbourne by an innings and 14 runs to retain the Ashes 2021-22.  

The batting order is to blame for England's devastating defeat in Australia, where the Joe Root-led team has yet to win a single game. In the last 13 Test matches down under, England has not won a single game. Under Joe Root's captaincy, England has now lost two Ashes series in a row in Australia.

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