With cricket taking a new avatar to satiate its broadcasting rights, behind the closed doors, all eyes are fixated squarely to July 8 when Jason Holder and possibly, Ben Stokes will take to the field for the toss in what will be the first Test match since India’s loss to New Zealand in Christchurch last March. It can be presumed that this will not only set a whole new TV record but also give a sneak-peek into how the future looks like until some sort of vaccine is out. 

To make things simple and organised for you, we, at SportsCafe, have got into the act and tried to gather all sorts of information related to the organisation of the England-West Indies series. Here is a complete explainer of the biosecure bubble and the plans in place by the England and Wales Cricket Board. 

According to the World Health Organisation, “Biosecurity is a strategic and integrated approach to analysing and managing relevant risks to human, animal and plant life and health and  associated risks for the environment.” Creating a bio-secure bubble means there would be restrictive movement inside the premises, pretty much like a gated community. At both the venues - Old Trafford and Southampton - England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) are planning to create that bubble with no one going out of the venue. 

The first Test will be played at Southampton’s Ageas Bowl and the next two at Old Trafford in Manchester. These venues have been chosen over other celebrated London venues because of the fact that both Hampshire and Manchester have on-site hotels, and players will not need to go out. With all Corona-negative players entering the arena, it will be a secure place for players and cricket can go ahead with social distancing and other ICC-mandated regulations in place.

Cricbuzz reported that most of the West Indies players - the 15-man squad and 11-member stand-by touring party - left the Caribbean shore by two chartered flights from V.C. Bird International Airport in Antigua to Manchester. Only Oshane Thomas and John Campbell were carried by a private jet from Jamaica to arrive at the Manchester Airport. Everyone had face masks on and then took three different coaches to observe social distancing on the journey to the biosecure bubble created at the Old Trafford.

Given the fact that the UK government has a mandatory 14-day Quarantine period, players will be under strict adherence during their stay at the Hilton Garden Inn while only being allowed to practice in small groups. Lancashire’s Director of Cricket Paul Allott stated that a small amount of freedom will be granted after the Quarantine period is over, but that will be extremely limited. 

But how does that make it fully secure?

Well, it doesn’t. But there is a bigger chance that nothing untoward will happen thanks to the strong liaison in place. All the players tested negative before leaving the Caribbean and they were tested once again at Old Trafford, which came out negative as well. From now on, each member of the squad will be tested twice a week for the next three weeks and if anyone comes out positive, then those players will be isolated from the rest of the group for a period of time. So it gives hope that things will go alright.

Once the Quarantine period is over, in which players will also practice at the venue, the Windies players will move their base to the Ageas Bowl on July 4 for the first Test of the Wisden Trophy on July 8. Pretty much like Old Trafford facility, the Hampshire bowl has a 172-room Hilton Hotel on site as well as large practice areas, a golf course and wellbeing centre that can be turned into a testing venue. Given the fact that the entire complex is on the outskirts of Southampton, with lesser public movements, it is fundamentally well-placed to be a secure environment as Elworthy pointed out.

“The whole idea of a hotel on-site and a gated ground is bio-secure, so no one leaves the premises. The hotel staff will be serving the players, officials and the media. They will all be tested regularly. There will be select few from the UK media and they will have to stay at the hotel for the duration of the match. Nobody goes home after the end of day’s play,” Giles White, Director of Cricket, Hampshire, had told Sportstar

After the first Test, both the sides will move to Old Trafford for the remainder of the series while there will be separate zones for players, officials and the broadcasters along with other operational staff. The England white-ball side will effectively take on the Southampton facility from July 16 to prepare for the ODI series against Ireland, provisionally scheduled from July 30. 

Once both teams reach Old Trafford, the same cycle will be repeated as both squads and other staff, including select few media professionals from the UK, will be tested again. All tests and PPE will be sourced privately in order to reduce the burden on the National Health Service (NHS) of the UK. Players will be allowed to leave the bubble, lest an unavoidable situation arises.

Surely, spectators in the UK pay some of the highest prices around the world to be at a cricket match and that is going to take a massive hit during this pandemic. But the ECB can still turn this to their advantage. With a multi-million dollar Sky and BBC deal in place, ECB, thanks to their world-class production facility, will be able to translate the empty stadia to something very spectacular to the TV and given the lack of options, it is sure that all cricket-loving nations will be glued to it. 

That raises the level of preparedness as ECB will try to cash-in with that surge, especially from the sub-continent, where they have a deal in place with Sony Sports Pvt. Ltd. The volatile market might not offer a huge amount of money per slot in a normal scenario but with the potential to break records, ECB will be in an advantageous position to fill up their coffers. One thing that must be pointed out is the finances might not see a full bloom, but they will be better placed in regards to their projection of £380million in the event of summer without cricket. Mitigating a fraction of that will be the key.

No. Pakistan will land in the UK during the Windies series but the itinerary is yet to be announced. They will go through the same rigmarole as Windies while England will try to complete their ODI commitment against Ireland. Pakistan will take a 42-man touring party to England - 28 players and 14 support staff - and set up their base in the Biosecure bubble.