rains at MCG - how Covid affected Wade is treated ??

It has been a drenched 2022 for many parts of the Globe, at times catastrophically so. A year of disastrous flooding perhaps reached its nadir in Pakistan, where a third of the country was inundated by heavy rainfall from June, killing more than 1,000 people. While floods are indeed natural phenomena, a longstanding result of storms, the human-induced climate crisis is amplifying their damage. Rising sea levels, driven by melting glaciers and the thermal expansion of water, are increasingly inundating coastal areas, while warmer temperatures are causing more moisture to accumulate in the atmosphere, which is then released as rain or snow.  As the world heats further, the sort of floods seen this year from Australia to Nigeria will probably become more common. “We have waged war on nature, and nature is striking back, and striking back in a devastating way,” Guterres lamented after visiting Pakistan in September.

 

We are reading about rains – as rains are playing spoilsport to T20WCI games down under.  Afghanistan got their first points of the tournament when their game against New Zealand in Melbourne on Wednesday was abandoned without a ball being bowled because of evening showers. Earlier in the day, at the MCG, England lost to Ireland by five runs after the Duckworth Lewis method was used. On Monday, Zimbabwe and South Africa split points because the match in Hobart was abandoned because of rain.

 A band of high-altitude winds that's surrounding Antarctica, known as the stratospheric polar vortex, is adding to the risk of increased rainfall in Australia's south-east this spring, according to the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM). .. .. … the subject matter of the post is not rains but Covid and the way Covid is affecting ! (rather the way it is treated) in this Cricket World Cup.   

2020 and 2021 – most of us were seeing the statistics of Covid 19 daily .. .. perhaps not any longer.  However, India witnessed a huge increase in daily Covid-19 cases on Friday after a continuous decline from the past three days. The country logged 2,208 fresh cases in the past 24 hours, almost double of single-day infections reported yesterday.   On Thursday, India reported 1112 covid cases in the last 24 hours, while on Wednesday, the country logged 830 Covid cases, followed by 826 on previous day, according to the Union Health Ministry data.  

Elsewhere, authorities in Shanghai have started administering an inhalable vaccine against Covid-19, apparently a world first, the Associated Press reported. The vaccine is being offered for free as a booster dose for previously vaccinated people, according to an announcement on an official city social media account, the report said. The vaccine is a mist that is sucked in through the mouth, the AP reported.   

It seems like everyone has an opinion on how COVID-19 came to exist. US Republicans in the House Energy and Commerce Committee have questioned the National Institutes of Health about the alleged “lab leak". But, most scientists agree with the conclusion made in a Science Magazine article published in August that the virus most likely transferred from animal to person at the crowded wet markets in Wuhan, China.  .. . .. to those who said China was as badly effected -  China’s largest city of Shanghai is ordering mass testing Friday on all 1.3 million residents of its downtown Yangpu district and confining them to their homes at least until results are known. The demand is an echo of measures ordered over the summer that led to a two-month lockdown of the entire city of 25 million that devastated the local economy, prompting food shortages and rare confrontations between residents and the authorities. At the start of the lockdown, authorities said they would last just days but then kept extending the deadline.  

Today there are rains again at Melbourne and the 26^th match of the ICC T20WCI between arch rivals Australia and England has been delayed.   

Australia are negotiating a second Covid-positive case in three days with wicketkeeper Matthew Wade testing positive just 24 hours out from their vital clash with England today.  Wade did not train at Australia's optional indoor session at the Junction Oval on Thursday afternoon after testing positive. It follows hot on the heels of Adam Zampa missing Australia's clash with Sri Lanka after testing positive. But under tournament rules, Wade is allowed to play and is likely to line up for Australia despite the positive test. His symptoms are minor. Wade will however need to travel to the ground separately to the rest of the squad and will not be able to use the team changeroom prior to or during the game. [sounds ridiculous !!]

 

Australia's selectors do not have the option to replace Wade though, as he is the only specialist wicketkeeper in Australia's 15-man squad, after backup keeper Josh Inglis was withdrawn prior to the tournament due to a severe cut to his hand. Inglis was replaced by allrounder Cameron Green. Australia cannot fly in a backup keeper such as Alex Carey, Josh Philippe, Ben McDermott or Jimmy Peirson to play as Wade would need to be permanently replaced in the squad for the remainder of the tournament. This was the exact scenario Australia had hoped to avoid when replacing Inglis with Green, having gambled that there was a very slim chance that Wade would go down.  

Strange are the ways of people and funny are rules of the game – one is allowed to play when tested positive but will have to travel separately and not use the changeroom of other players .. .. so when he is the keeper, how distant would the first slip stand and if he bats, would not the non-striker go nearer to have a chat ?!?!

 
With regards – S. Sampathkumar
28.10.2022