England’s preparations for their most recent Test series were almost derailed by a few of their players falling ill, with all-rounder Chris Woakes one of the players to suffer from flu-like symptoms.
The 31-year-old played a bit part throughout the tour to South Africa, which consisted of ten matches across formats.
Chris Woakes looks back at SA tour
This came before South Africa had recorded its first confirmed case of COVID-19, but Woakes wonders if he might have contracted the novel virus while on tour.
“You do look back on it and kind of wonder I suppose. Obviously, we have no idea whether it was or it wasn’t. But my symptoms during that time – and I was stuck in that room for nearly a week – were more gastro.
“There were flu-type symptoms in there as well – whether that was down to dehydration and that side of things I’m not sure. Listening to the other guys, their symptoms were relatively similar. So who knows? Potentially.
“At the same time, it would be wrong for us to sit here and say we definitely had it because the symptoms being suggested regarding coronavirus seem to be more with the cough.
“There are obviously fever-like symptoms as well so it’s a tricky one. But of course, it has crossed your mind.”
Chris Woakes
The end of cricket as we know it
England men’s cricket team is one of many sports teams across the world to have been inconvenienced by the pandemic, with their tour to Sri Lanka cancelled in March.
With the uncertainty over when the pandemic will be a thing of the past, Woakes believes cricket could see some drastic changes.
“It could potentially change the way things work with the ball. I don’t know if you completely cut out putting saliva on the ball how much that would affect the ball swinging,” he said. “We might find the ball stays dryer and you might get more reverse swing but obviously conditions would depend on that.”
Chris Woakes
Over 2,5million people worldwide have been infected with the virus, which has claimed close to 200 000 lives.
Source: The South African Read More
