CHRIS STOCKS: Pre-match testing, temperature-taking, mandatory face masks, eating alone, and silence in the stands. This is cricket in a pandemic
The odd thing about being inside England’s bio-secure ‘bubble’ at the Ageas Bowl – and it is odd – is the fact that after a few days it actually starts to feel entirely normal.
Much like on England’s tour of Bangladesh in 2016, when players, officials and media were trapped inside the same hotels for weeks on end, you become conditioned to the restrictions and rigmarole of the new daily routine.
The bubble in Bangladesh was to counter the threat of terrorism, with westerners the apparent target of militants loyal to Al Qaeda
This summer the threat is the unseen Covid-19, a virus that has left thousands dead in the UK and changed daily life for everybody in the country in ways that would have seemed unimaginable just a few short months ago.
Getting cricket on is, on the face of it, way down the list of priorities. Yet the effort, organisation and dedication of those at the England and Wales Cricket Board to make this bio-secure series happen has been remarkable.
The detail in the planning, which we all received in a 74-page booklet that set out all the protocols before the series began, is remarkable.
On a practical level, the safety measures initiated to allow written journalists, broadcasters and all the other people needed to make a Test match happen in these circumstances – from the scoreboard operators to the cleaners, ground staff and TV crew – appear over the top. No chances have been taken but as Phil Davies, the ECB’s safety manager and lead COVID-19 planner, said in a pre-series briefing to the written press: “When this is all over we would prefer people to say this was a massive overreaction than the other way around.”
My journey into the ‘bubble’ started the Friday before the series against West Indies began – in an industrial estate car park in High Wycombe. This would be my first ‘test’ of the summer – for COVID-19. From now everybody covering the series will have to repeat this process every five to 10 days. Those attending the second Test at Old Trafford were tested before day four in Southampton.
The results are received within 18 hours and you will only hear something if you have tested positive.
In this case, no news is good news.
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Tests results are included in an individual biometric health passport that takes the form an app on your phone and must be scanned each day you enter the ground. Within this app you must also take a daily health questionnaire at least an hour before your arrival to confirm you do not have any of the symptoms of coronavirus or feel unwell in any other way.
The screening process is understandably rigorous given one rogue case of the virus within the venue could shut down the entire series.
On top of all this, you must go through two temperature checks before you are allowed access to the ground. These take the form of thermal body image cameras that check your vital signs. The first scan takes place in a tent outside the car park at the Ageas Bowl. You get out of your car, walk through and if all is clear, you are handed a wristband colour coded for that day. Without it you will not get through the next checkpoint, which is stationed just inside the West Gate and at which point, presuming you pass the second temperature check, your accreditation pass is scanned and you are good to go into your ‘zone’ at the ground.
This process is repeated every single day of the match.
The written press, unlike broadcasters, are designated as ‘day staff’ as we are not staying on site at the Hilton hotel situated inside the Ageas Bowl.
Mealtimes were strictly controlled
This means we are restricted to the ‘outer zone’ of the ground, a small area in and around the Shane Warne stand. Any movement out of this zone and you risk getting your accreditation cancelled. The measures are strict and enforced by the use of a device attached to your accreditation pass – called a ‘Beacon Card’ – that tracks your movements and who you have been in contact with.
Once in face masks are mandatory, social distancing is strictly enforced and hand sanitiser dispensers are liberally placed in and around the media centre, which for this summer is a converted executive box that has a capacity of just 13. By way of comparison, the usual media centre, situated inside the Hilton hotel, houses 111 journalists.
This is not the only difference from a normal summer, with the only meal of the day served an individual lunch plate that you eat on a large table – allowing a two-metre distance – opposite the colleague you are sitting next to in the box.
There is water, in individual jugs placed on your work station, and tea and coffee available at the back of the box. But unlike pre-coronavirus times, there are no breakfast bacon rolls or sandwiches and cake at tea. Those of us granted access to these bio-secure matches will probably be thankful at the end of the summer, or at least our waistlines will be.
The other big difference is that the end of day press conferences are held remotely via Zoom rather than in person. It’s convenient, no traipsing into Hampshire’s indoor nets. Yet it all feels rather clinical – which it is.
Journalists were spread out and away from the normal media area
News from other parts of the ground filters through to the written media as well, such as the Test Match Special team, who are staying in the on-site hotel, having to go to their rooms in between stints on-air given restrictions mean do not allow for a green room. Aside from small inconveniences, the biggest change is the lack of fans. No crowds mean significantly less joy at attending an event where the atmosphere amplifies everything. There is none of the buzz, excitement or anticipation you would normally get.
The dystopian feel is exacerbated by the lack of spectators. No chants, beer snakes, silly costumes or, most importantly, applause.
The moment Shannon Gabriel bowled Dominic Sibley on day one of this match was greeted with complete silence other than a few roars of delight from his West Indies team-mates. It was eerie. The lack of activity on the concourses inside the ground was again strange, discomforting and surreal.
Yet, after a few days, this starts to feel like normality. It’s sanitised – quite literally as teams of cleaners disinfect door handles, tables, desks and various other ‘touchpoints’ throughout the day. It’s soulless, too, but this is how things are for now.
We should all feel privileged that we can at least watch some cricket this summer after what’s happened these past few months. I certainly felt extremely privileged to be there in person, even if the experience was alien to anything I have ever experienced at a cricket ground before.
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