Stephen Doheny

Aryasekhar Chakraborty ∙ 11 July 2021

Irish wicket-keeper Neil Rock tests positive for COVID-19, two other members put into isolation

Irish wicket-keeper batsman Neil Rock who recently earned a call-up to the national side for the T20I series against the Proteas has tested positive for COVID-19 and has subsequently been put to self-isolation. Stephen Doheny has been named as his replacement and just like Rock he is yet to make his international debut. "Team management was informed of the positive result today, and Rock has been isolated from the squad as he awaits a follow-up test at the team hotel," Cricket Ireland was quoted as saying in a press release on Saturday (July 10). "Doheny, meanwhile, will undergo a COVID test this afternoon and - given a negative outcome - will join the squad tomorrow,” the statement added. It has been confirmed that one of the support staff and a player has been deemed close contact of Rock and has been put to isolation following the safety protocols at place for the Ireland-South Africa limited-overs series. "Due to our biosecurity measures and contact tracing, we are satisfied that we do not have any genuine close contact cases and this should therefore have minimal impact on the squad. "However, out of an abundance of caution due to the proximity of the series start, we will test one player and one staff member who had confirmed they spent a short amount of time with Neil with correct COViD safe precautions in place. We expect them to test negative and re-join the squad tomorrow,” the statement read. Meanwhile, the three-match ODI series between hosts Ireland and South Africa is slated to kick off on July 11 in Malahide. The three-match ODI series will be followed by as many T20s.