Coronavirus: Cricket suspended in South Africa for 60 days

Newlands, March 16: Cricket South Africa (CSA) has suspended all forms of cricket for 60 days following new national guidelines aimed at dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has banned all public gatherings of 100 people or more and imposed strict border controls after the number of confirmed cases in the country reached 64.

As such, CSA has cancelled all forms of cricket, from junior and amateur level up to first-class matches.

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Dr Jacques Faul, acting chief executive of the governing body, said in a statement: "We at CSA take this pronouncement by the president and the cabinet very seriously and we will most certainly use our leverage to ensure that we minimise the impact of the virus in our spaces.

"Consequently and during this time of absolute caution and surveillance, we would like to call upon all our members and affiliates to desist from taking part in any cricket related gatherings and other transversal events that will include the congregation of large numbers of people and/or up to 100 people".

The senior South Africa men's team is not due to play again until a tour of the West Indies in late July. Their ODI series against India this month was postponed.