Brisbane City lockdown puts 4th Test under cloud

BRISBANE: A fresh three-day lockdown in Brisbane has put Cricket Australia in a spot of bother as it makes desperate efforts to hold the fourth and final Test against India in the Queensland state capital from January 15.

The lockdown was announced less than 24 hours after top cricket board officials from India and Australia engaged in discussion on relaxation of hard quarantine measures for the visitors.

"Cricket Australia executives are urgently trying to determine the impact of a three-day lockdown in Brisbane on next week's fourth Test at the Gabba, which was already under a cloud because of India's hesitation to fly north and be subjected to tighter bio-security restrictions," a local newspaper reported.

"A hotel quarantine worker's positive test to the more contagious UK strain of COVID-19 is the latest spanner in the works for CA's hopes to close out the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series at the Gabba," it further wrote.

While Cricket Australia was ready to allow a capacity crowd of 36,000, the fluid health situation might warrant a change in the spectator policy.

"The health scare in the city, however, has left those attendance caps in jeopardy," the newspaper stated. Agencies

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