The Covid 19 pandemic has wreaked havoc worldwide. The highly contagious infection has spread its wings around the world and infected millions of people. Although it started its effects in China in December, the world understood the seriousness of the situation much later. There were several cases that remained undetected in the early stages of the infection. One such case was told by former English all-rounder Ian Botham, who claimed he was infected with the dreaded corona virus earlier this year, but mistaken it for “a bad case of flu”.
“I think the thing to remember is that six months ago nobody knew what that was, hadn’t heard of it,” Botham told Good Morning Britain.
“I actually had it. I had it in late December, early January, and I thought I had bad flu. It’s amazing how long we’ve been around, we don’t know all the details. It was kind of dark, let’s see what happens. “
Botham asked people to be patient, hoping things would improve in a few weeks.
“I think people reacted very well. I hope they will be a little more patient in the next few weeks so that we can get into a situation where everyone can move, ”he said.
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Many cricketers, such as the English spinner Jack Leach, also told their stories when they felt they had symptoms similar to Covid 19, but could not claim this because tests were not available in the early phase of the pandemic. The infectious disease has infected over 10 million people worldwide and killed more than 500,000 people.
While the three-test series, which begins between England and the West Indies on July 8, marks the resumption of international cricket after the corona virus-paused break, club cricket is still paused.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the cricket ball “natural disease carrier” last Tuesday, and his decision to uphold the ban on recreational cricket has been criticized by former cricketers, including former English captain Michael Vaughan.
Botham has little doubt that the sport will start soon, since cricket is one such game where social distancing is possible.
“I think cricket will be back soon. Cricket can be played. There is no real physical contact there, you can easily maintain your social distance, ”said the 64-year-old.
Botham, the chairman of Durham, said the discussions are ongoing and a decision will come soon.
“I think there are a few meetings where the decisions are made. In my view, when you talk to the guys in Durham, you’re back in training, you’re very, very interested in getting out and playing like any young athlete, ”he said.
“There is talk of whether it is a white or a red ball – it should be both, all aspects of the game should come back.
“There are a lot of people out there, we have people in Durham who are young players in the last year of their contract and if they have no chance to show what they have out there in the middle, some of these contracts will not be renewed. ”
(with PTI inputs)
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