David Willey tests COVID-19 positive; ruled out of T20 Blast group matches

The Yorkshire County Cricket Club received a massive blow on September 16 (Wednesday) as one of its players has tested positive for the novel coronavirus while three other players have been quarantined after they had contact outside a secure environment. This means that the four players have been ruled out of the league stage of the remaining T20 Blast organized by the England and Wales Cricket Board.

Disclosing the names of the four cricketers, Yorkshire confirmed that Matthew Fisher, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Josh Poysden and David Willey have been advised to self-isolate for 14 days. The four players were deemed to be in close contact on Saturday separate to the squad and away from a COVID secure environment. One player has had a positive test returned and as all four players were deemed to be in close contact, all four have been advised to self-isolate for 14 days, as per COVID guidelines.

YCCC can confirm that Matthew Fisher, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Josh Poysden and David Willey will be unavailable for the remaining Vitality Blast group matches after a positive COVID test was received #OneRose

— Yorkshire CCC (@YorkshireCCC) September 16, 2020

David Willey confirms testing positive for the coronavirus

Clearing the air regarding the player who has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the England pacer David Willey took to his official Twitter handle to inform the fans that he along with his wife have tested positive for Covid-19. Since the other three players namely Fisher, Tom Kohler, and Poysden were in close contact with the couple, they will also be serving a mandatory 14-days quarantine period.

David tweeted, “Thank you for all the kind messages. My wife & I received positive COVID test results. Gutted to be missing the remaining games. Even more devastated that having been in contact with the other 3 lads Sat morning (before we had symptoms) means they’re at risk & unavailable too.”

Thank you for all the kind messages. My wife & I received positive COVID test results. Gutted to be missing the remaining games. Even more devastated that having been in contact with the other 3 lads Sat morning (before we had symptoms) means they’re at risk & unavailable too. https://t.co/mP1pZAiX1C

— David Willey (@david_willey) September 16, 2020

The club’s lead physiotherapist Kunwar Bansil though was disappointed for the absence of four key players, he knows that this decision was non-negotiable considering the health of the remaining players and the support staff.

“Although it is disappointing that we will be without four key players, we have a duty of care to the wider squad and others. The health and wellbeing of the players and support staff is the club’s primary responsibility, as well as protecting the opposition, the integrity of the competition and playing our part in keeping the wider community safe,” Bansil said as quoted by Yorkshire website.

The Yorkshire County Club is placed at the fifth position in the points table of North Group with 6 points. Out of the 8 matches played, the club has managed to win only two matches and had to face defeat in 4 fixtures with 2 matches resulting in a draw. The Vikings have to play two more matches in the league stage of the T20 tournament, against Lancashire Lightning on September 17 and Derbyshire Falcons on September 20.