Durham hit by positive Covid-19 test, 'a number' of players and staff forced to self-isolate

Durham's T20 Blast game against Lancashire on Thursday evening will go ahead despite "a number" of their squad entering self-isolation after a member of the club's support staff tested positive for Covid-19.

"Durham Cricket can confirm that a member of our support staff has tested positive for Covid-19," a club statement said on Thursday afternoon.

"As a precaution and following government guidelines, a number of our playing squad and support staff are undertaking a period of self-isolation. The club will continue to strictly follow all government and ECB guidance to ensure the safety of our staff and spectators."

The club later tweeted to confirm that Thursday's game - which is being televised on Sky Sports - would go ahead as planned from 7pm.

Durham did not name the players and staff affected but made a single change to their side ahead of the Lancashire fixture, with Sean Dickson replacing Jack Burnham.

Durham are not the first club to be affected by playing withdrawing due to self-isolation. Yorkshire's Blast campaign was derailed last year after David Willey, their captain, tested positive and forced three other first-choice players to self-isolate, while Northamptonshire and Hampshire were both in similar positions last summer.

This week, Surrey announced that Ollie Pope would miss four fixtures after coming into contact with someone who had tested positive for Covid, while Tom Helm, the Middlesex seamer, is currently self-isolating after testing positive himself. Ben Duckett, the Nottinghamshire batter, missed the win at Northamptonshire on Sunday as a Covid precaution.