We're lucky cricket is not a contact sport - Pat Cummins amid coronavirus threat

Melbourne, March 15: Australian fast bowler Pat Cummins feels "lucky" that cricket is not an out-an-out contact sport at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the sporting calendar, not even sparing his own game.

Australia and New Zealand played the first ODI of the three-match series in an empty stadium on Friday (March 13) amid the outbreak which has so far claimed over 5000 lives.

"We're lucky in cricket that it's not a contact sport, you can try and avoid getting too close to each other so no one really changed too much," Cummins was quoted as saying in cricket.au.com.

"We were pretty clear on making sure nothing really affected the integrity of how we actually played and not changing anything about how we normally go about the game."

Coronavirus: Australia-New Zealand series postponed as Black Caps rush home

Australia beat New Zealand by 71 runs in the opening ODI on Friday (March 15) before the second and third matches were postponed owing to the affliction that has claimed over 5000 deaths so far while infecting more than 1,30,000 people across the world.

The three T20 Internationals between the two teams in New Zealand were also postponed as the Black Caps returned home.