West Indies contingent in New Zealand clear second Covid-19 test

All members of the West Indies team and support staff, who are currently on tour in New Zealand, have cleared the second of their three Covid-19 tests on Friday. They will undergo their final test next week, just before their two-week quarantine ends.

The players and support staff have been lodged at the NZC's High-Performance Centre at Lincoln University, on the outskirts of Christchurch.

The contingent can train, attend gym sessions and socialise within three bubbles comprising a maximum of 15 members until Saturday. From Sunday till the end of their 14-day quarantine next week, the camp can split into two bubbles comprising a maximum of 20 members each.

Seven members of West Indies' 35-strong playing contingent - T20I captain Kieron Pollard, Test captain Jason Holder, Fabian Allen, Shimron Hetmyer, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran and Oshane Thomas - will only arrive in New Zealand after the conclusion of the IPL, which ends on November 10 in the UAE.

Out of them, Pollard, Holder, Allen, Hetmyer and Paul are part of the teams that have made the IPL playoffs. These seven players - of whom six are part of the T20I squad - will only end their quarantine on the eve of the first T20I in Auckland, which is to take place on November 27.

The rest of the tour party arrived after a 54-hour journey, including transit, from the Caribbean

West Indies will play three T20Is in all, followed by two Test matches in Hamilton (December 3-7) and Wellington (December 11-15).

West Indies are the only international team to have embarked on two overseas tours since the Covid-19 pandemic brought a worldwide pause in global cricket. Before this tour of New Zealand, they played three Tests in England in July.