SA's domestic cricket counts cost of Covid-19 pandemic

CAPE TOWN - South African Cricketers’ Association chief executive Andrew Breetzke believes the timing of franchise players returning to training is imperative due to the costs related to Covid-19 testing.

Professional cricketers were granted permission to resume training outdoors for the first time since March following the easing of lockdown measures last week.

Cricket SA announced a 45-man high performance squad on Monday who will train at their respective franchise bases with at least half of them preparing for the 3TC Solidarity Cup to be held on July 18 at SuperSport Park.

However, the remaining players at the six franchises may have to wait a bit longer to resume training as the official date for the start of the new domestic season has not been announced yet.

This is crucial as all players and management will need to undergo Covid-19 testing before returning to training. Players will also then have to undergo further testing as pre-season progresses which could prove a costly exercise.

Footballers in the English Premier League are currently being tested weekly.

“It is unrealistic to expect franchise cricketers to be tested as much as the Premiership footballers. They basically have an unlimited budget. Everything here depends on when the actual season starts in regards to when the players will go back to training,” Breetzke told IOL Sport.

“We have been in consultation with Cricket SA regarding this because the main priority is the safety of the players and that requires regular testing.

“A mandatory test will have to be conducted prior to resumption and that costs approximately R20 000 per squad.

"There are six franchises which means it will cost R120 000. And this needs to be repeated on a regular basis prior to the season, plus there is the sanitisation costs of the training facilities, which means it could become very expensive quite quickly,” Breetzke added.