DUBLIN: Cricket Ireland has temporarily suspended elite men's training sessions after a player returned a positive test for COVID-19.
"As soon as we were notified of the test result, we called an immediate halt to elite men's training across Ireland. The player in question will be re-tested to ensure this is not a false positive," said Richard Holdsworth, High-Performance Director for Cricket Ireland.
"We want to ensure the risk of COVID-19 is minimised in line with our return-to-training protocols, and have always said that the health and safety of our players and coaches must come first," he added.
Cricket Ireland also informed that the unnamed player was using the training facilities and was in close contact with the other cricketers.
"While the player was only using one of our four training hubs, he had been a close contact with players using other training hubs -- so out of an abundance of caution we have stopped training for a few days across all hubs while tests are undertaken," said Holdsworth.
"We have a busy period of cricket in May, and World Cup Super League matches set for early June, so it's vital that we provide our senior players with as much time outdoors training as we can. However, this will not come at the risk to their health and safety, and that of their families or close contacts," he concluded.