Cricket-South Africa, England ODI series to go ahead

CAPE TOWN, Dec 5 (Reuters) - The One-Day International series between South Africa and England will start in Paarl on Sunday after the host's squad returned a full set of negative results in their latest round of coronavirus testing, officials have confirmed.

The series due to start on Friday had been thrown into doubt after a South African player tested positive in their bio-secure hotel environment during mandatory testing on Thursday, with the first match at Newlands postponed an hour before its start.

England expressed concern over the strength of the bio-secure environment after the positive result, while a South African team investigation has not yet shown how the unnamed player caught the virus.

"The entire Proteas team has returned negative results from the COVID-19 tests that were conducted yesterday evening in Cape Town ahead of the three-match One-Day International (ODI) series," Cricket South Africa (CSA) said in a statement.

"The series opener will get underway as scheduled at Boland Park on Sunday at 1000 hours." (Reporting by Nick Said; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)