Pat Cummins has been ruled out of the second Ashes Test at the Adelaide Oval after being deemed a close contact of a positive COVID-19 case.
Australia’s captain was at a restaurant on Wednesday night when a person at a nearby table to him discovered they had tested positive to the virus.
Cummins immediately left the venue and notified officials, and has since tested negative for COVID-19.
But his close proximity to the positive case means he has been judged as a close contact, and forced to isolate for seven days.
Steve Smith will captain Australia for the first time since the 2018 ball-tampering scandal in the absence of Cummins, while Michael Neser will make his Test debut.
Amazingly, Australia were just metres away from having their whole frontline bowling attack wiped out via the restaurant visit.
Both Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon were also present, but were seated outside and therefore only deemed casual contacts.
They too were tested on Thursday morning, but are free to play against England under South Australian health rules.
“Cummins is understandably very disappointed not to be able to captain Australia for the day-night Test in Adelaide,” Cricket Australia said in a statement.
“We anticipate that he will be available to play in the third men’s Ashes Test at the MCG in Melbourne (on Boxing Day).”
There is no suggestion any party has done anything wrong, with incoming passengers into Adelaide from NSW and Victoria not required to quarantine after their initial test.
Regardless it means Travis Head will take up the role of vice-captain without Cummins in the side, after once holding the role in conjunction with the quick three years ago.
Cummins, the world’s top-ranked Test bowler, claimed a five-wicket haul in the series-opening win at the Gabba and his absence comes as massive blow to Australia when considering Josh Hazlewood is already out with a side strain.
With Hazlewood unavailable, Cummins was expected to reclaim the new ball for the pink-ball match having taken 46 wickets at an average of 16.23 in day-night Tests,
Adelaide has had a rise in COVID-19 cases over the past week, with the 25 reported on Wednesday the most in a single day in more than 18 months.
Players are not in strict bubbles for the Adelaide Test, with both Australia and England players wanting as many freedoms as possible on the tour.
But the Cummins incident does call into question what protocols will be required for the next two Tests in Melbourne and Sydney, where case numbers are beyond 1000 per day.
Officials would also be keen to avoid a repeat of the cancelled Test between England and India this year, after fears of an outbreak in the India camp.
India coach Ravi Shastri has since denied claims it was spread at the launch of his book in London, where he and others mingled with the public.
AAP
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