Andy Flower tests positive for Covid-19, misses Trent Rockets fixture

Andy Flower, the Trent Rockets head coach, will be absent from Monday's men's Hundred fixture against Northern Superchargers, alongside two other members of the team's support staff, after the trio tested positive for Covid-19.

Steven Mullaney and another support staff member have also been withdrawn from the evening fixture, after being identified as close contacts, with Paul Franks stepping in as Trent Rockets' head coach.

The development looks set to force Flower and his colleagues to self-isolate for the next ten days, a period that that encompasses two more Rockets fixtures, both of them away - against London Spirit at Lord's on July 29, and against Birmingham Phoenix at Edgbaston on August 1.

The former England head coach, who has been a fixture on the T20 franchise circuit in recent seasons, took over as Rockets' head coach in February, when their original choice, Stephen Fleming, withdrew due to the ongoing Covid-related travel restrictions.

Mullaney, Nottinghamshire's club captain, played in Rockets' opening fixture of the Hundred, a nine-wicket win against Southern Brave on Saturday, meaning that the team will be required to make at least one change to that victorious line-up.

Trent Rockets is also the Hundred team of the England Test captain, Joe Root - and with nine days to go until the first Test against India, also at Trent Bridge, the news will be of particular concern to the ECB, which was forced to pick a brand-new ODI squad for their series against Pakistan earlier this month following a dressing-room outbreak during the preceding Sri Lanka series.

Covid has also wreaked havoc on the county circuit this month, with Derbyshire forced to abandon their Championship match against Essex before pulling out of the Vitality Blast, and Kent fielding a team comprised of second XI and club players for their recent fixure against Sussex.