Somerset become latest county to call off pre-season tour

The club had planned to travel to Abu Dhabi on Sunday for a warm weather camp, with matches to be played against Worcestershire and Essex, both of whom were due to be there at the same time

• Coronavirus and cricket: Tours and competitions postponed, cancelled and affected by Covid-19

Somerset have become the latest county side to cancel their pre-season tour, following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

The club had planned to travel to Abu Dhabi on Sunday for a warm weather camp, with matches to be played against Worcestershire and Essex, both of whom were due to be there at the same time.

Worcestershire have already cancelled their trip – they revealed in a statement that they had been making contingency plans since mid-February. Essex are already in Abu Dhabi, having flown out on March 9, and have confirmed that they will continue as planned.

Somerset have made their move on the back of discussions with major stakeholders, as well as in light of fast-moving developments.

Director of cricket Andy Hurry explained: “We have been monitoring the situation on a daily basis over the last couple of weeks, ensuring that we didn’t lose sight of the value and benefit that preparing for the season on grass overseas would give us.

“We have endeavoured to give ourselves as much time as possible to make this best-informed decision, allowing us to consider our position as more information has become available on a daily basis.

“Obviously, the health and wellbeing of our players, support staff and their families are of the highest importance.

“Although Abu Dhabi has appropriate protocols in place, the change of the national state from ‘Contain’ to ‘Delay’, coupled with the potential escalation of any isolation process for those returning to the UK, have become key factors in the decision-making process.

“Any imposed period of inactivity due to isolation of our players and staff would certainly adversely impact our pre-season preparation and potentially some early season fixtures.

“We have been considering contingency plans during this decision-making phase and we are now finalising these in order to give ourselves the optimum possible opportunity to be best prepared for the forthcoming season.”