Will South Africa vs England ODI series still go ahead?
The possible cancellation of the remaining matches will have serious implications for cash-strapped Cricket South Africa who were due to earn a reported $4.2 million for the television rights.
England's tour of South Africa remained in the balance on Sunday after the two countries' cricket boards announced that Monday's planned second one-day international in Cape Town will not take place.
The announcement followed the abandoning of the first match in a three-match series on Sunday after two of the touring party returned unconfirmed positive tests for Covid-19.
Cricket South Africa and the England and Wales Cricket Board said in a joint statement that the decision had been taken while they "await the outcome of the independent ratification of the two unconfirmed positive Covid-19 tests from the England camp and the continued health and wellbeing of both playing groups".
"Once the findings of this review have been received, CSA and ECB will then discuss how best to proceed concerning the remaining two matches of this ODI series," the statement added.
The possible cancellation of the remaining matches will have serious implications for cash-strapped Cricket South Africa who were due to earn a reported $4.2 million for the television rights.
CSA said the England players and management underwent an additional round of tests on Saturday evening after two members of staff at their hotel tested positive for the virus.
The staff were tested after it emerged that the unnamed South African player had tested positive despite reportedly not having left his team's "bubble".
Former England captain Mike Atherton, now a commentator and journalist, had said he feared the entire series could be under threat after Sunday's match was canceled.
Atherton said the new positive cases had "ramped up" the concern that the England camp already felt after the opening match was postponed.
"Certainly this match is off and I would be pessimistic about the other games," said Atherton.
The England camp subsequently revealed that they had returned two "unconfirmed" positives after a round of retesting on Saturday evening. These are awaiting independent ratification, after which the ECB will consult with CSA about the fate of the tour - although no decisions are expected until Monday.
Could the remaining ODIs still be played?
In theory, yes. The rearranged fixture at Newlands has already been moved again, and won't now be played on Monday. But should England's two unconfirmed positives come back negative, then it is possible the ODIs could be played as back-to-back games on Tuesday and Wednesday.
What happens if England's two positive cases are confirmed?
The England players and staff are currently self-isolating in accordance with South African guidelines. Should the presence of Covid-19 be confirmed, those who tested positive would be required to remain quarantined at the hotel for a 10-day period, along with anyone deemed to have come into close contact with them. That would in turn mean missing the chartered flight that is due to take England home on Thursday.
Will there be any impact on the World Cup Super League?
If the series is cancelled due to the coronavirus, there is the potential for the three fixtures - worth 10 points each - to be rearranged (although few windows in which to squeeze another tour). In the case that the games go down as abandonments, then points would be shared, with South Africa and England taking 15 each.
