Joe Root declared fit after missing start of day four in second Test

GEORGE DOBELL AT THE ADELAIDE OVAL: The England captain did not take the field for the start of play after being struck in the abdomen during throw downs before play. Ben Stokes led the team in his absence

England captain Joe Root has been declared fit after missing the start of the fourth day in Adelaide after sustaining a blow during warm-ups.

Root was hit in what might euphemistically be described as the groin area during throw-downs and was being assessed by the England medical team at the time his side took the field. It is understood that Root was not wearing a box at the time of the incident.

The ball had been thrown by England’s spin bowling coach, Jeetan Patel, and is said to have been a half-volley that nipped in sharply off the seam. It was described as a “freak incident” by a team spokesperson.

Root underwent a scan on Sunday (December 19) afternoon in Adelaide but was later passed fit and returned to the field in the 36th over of the Australia second innings. Ben Stokes, the team’s vice-captain, led the side in his absence.

Deemed an external injury, Root's period off the field lasting 78 minutes means he is unable to bowl until 5.50pm local time. Ollie Robinson was therefore deployed as England's frontline spinner in the opening session.

Dawid Malan has been cleared to continue playing despite performing media duties at the end of the third day’s play. While two members of the media has tested positive for Covid during routine checks, all interviews have been conducted observing social distancing. Many of them have also taken place outside.

^{Ben Stokes skippered England in Root's absence (Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)}

The positive tests has created a certain amount of chaos within media circles, however. Neither the BBC nor ABC are currently broadcasting from the ground – they are, however, sharing coverage from a studio – while several other members of the media identified as close contacts have been ordered to isolate pending negative PCR tests.

The individuals returned a positive result following routine testing on the sixth day since their arrival in South Australia.

A deep clean of the media area has been conducted by staff at the Adelaide Oval.

“We have been advised that a member of a broadcast crew has returned a positive COVID result as part of their scheduled testing,” the venue said in a statement. “SA [South Australia] Health are aware and we have begun to trace and notify this person’s close contacts. 

“In accordance with our pre-planning, we are undertaking a deep clean of the relevant areas and are facilitating alternative facilities for relevant officials as required.”

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