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ECB head Tom Harrison justified bio-bubble relaxing for players
Harrison stated relaxation is for the mental health and welfare of athletes
A flurry of COVID-19 cases prior to the Pakistan series rocked England
England and Wales Cricket Board Chief Executive Tom Harrison said the board on Thursday handed England cricketers bio-bubble relaxation with mental health and well-being in mind.
Tom Harrison, Chief Executive Officer of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), said the board voted on Thursday to relax in the organic bubble with a view to providing players with welfare and mental health. Initially, 3 players in England and 4 support staff members tested positive for COVID-19, which resulted in the management having to choose a completely different ODI squad against Pakistan. Before the five-test series from England versus India starting on 4 August, India wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant tested COVID-19 positively.
While Pant is reaching its self-quarantine, Dayanand Guarani’s training assistant has tested positive too for COVID-19, the Cricket Control Board of India (BCCI) said on Thursday.
“With every competition, they compete in, whether that is the Hundred, whether it’s the test series against India, whether it’s a county cricket and the RL50,” quoted Harrison in ESPNcricinfo.
“We want people to feel that their lives come for them, both at home and as professionals, men, and women.
“We don’t want to be closing players in a spot where they feel that the only function they have in their lives is to go out and bat and bowl for whatever team that they play.
“I believe it’s an awful place to be for us. We need to understand what a responsible employer is to do in order to get the most from the players.
“This is by treating them as adults and discussing freely and communicating how we can best lessen the consequences of this continuing pandemic,” he continued.
When Harrison talked about caring for players, he said: “You must listen to what they told us, and it was quite evident to most boards around the world that we have to listen to the players’ voices.
“Because they too have lives and in some cases very young families, who have been separated from them for a very long time.
“I am afraid that it is no longer appropriate to go again, ‘once again to break good friends.’
“I do not think that is an acceptable location to continue to work for responsible employers. It’s about balance, so, “He added that.
The test series between India and England will begin on Trent Bridge on 4 August.
