Former Australian men’s cricket captain Ian Chappell has been forced to leave his ABC Sport commentary duties at Adelaide Oval and go into self-isolation following the Northern Beaches COVID-19 cluster in Sydney.
Key points:
- Chappell lives on Sydney’s Northern Beaches
- He returned to his Adelaide hotel room on Friday following advice from SA Health
- The 77-year-old was tested for COVID-19 on Saturday morning
Chappell, who lives on the Northern Beaches, was commentating on the first Test between Australia and India on Friday, but following advice from SA Health he left the venue to return to his hotel to self-isolate.
The 77-year-old, who has a grandstand named after him at Adelaide Oval, underwent a COVID-19 test this morning and is awaiting the results.
Chappell said it was “annoying” to be forced to leave Adelaide Oval but he understood he needed to follow SA Health protocols.
“When you come to a place to work and then you can’t work purely because you live in a certain postcode, that can get a bit frustrating,” Chappell told ABC Sport.
Chappell said he had not visited any of the Northern Beaches venues identified by NSW Health as being on high alert.
Chappell’s departure from Adelaide Oval followed the decision of Fox Sports commentator and retired Australian Test player, Brett Lee, to leave the venue and return to Sydney.
Lee also lives on the Northern Beaches, which will be locked down until Wednesday after NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian confirmed 23 new COVID-19 cases, including 10 that were reported yesterday.
Ms Berejiklian said 21 had been confirmed as directly linked to the Avalon outbreak on the Northern Beaches.
Two other cases are under investigation.
Ms Berejiklian said the Northern Beaches lockdown had been introduced because of the “likelihood” there would be a repeat of a similar rise in case numbers over the next 24 hours.