England have announced that paceman Jofra Archer has been dropped from the second Test at Emirates Old Trafford “following a breach of the team’s bio-secure protocols”. Archer has apologised to his teammates and management and will now self-isolate for five days.
“I am extremely sorry for what I have done,” said Archer. “I have put, not only myself, but the whole team and management in danger. I fully accept the consequences of my actions, and I want to sincerely apologise to everyone in the bio-secure bubble.
“It deeply pains me to be missing the Test match, especially with the series poised. I feel like I have let both teams down, and again I am sorry.”
A statement from the England and Wales Cricket Board said: “Archer will now commence five days of isolation and will undergo two Covid-19 tests in this period, which have to test negative before his self-isolation period is lifted. The West Indies team have been made aware and are satisfied with the measures that have been imposed.”
While it is not yet clear what Archer did to contravene the rules, any such breach is sure to have invoked disbelief and fury at the ECB. At one stage there were serious concerns that the entire English summer programme would be wiped out by Covid-19 – with chief executive Tom Harrison outlining that the worst-case estimates for that scenario involved a near £400m loss to the game.
West Indies’ willingness to travel and take part in the series was, therefore, a huge boost and involved much meticulous planning. For an individual to have put the mutual trust at risk will, in the circumstances, be seen as a matter of utmost seriousness.