Auckland seamer Ben Lister on Monday became the first cricketer as the replacement for the COVID-19 replacement in professional cricket.
Lister became the replacement of the batsman Mark Chapman who is speculated to have tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the Plunket Shield game against Otago.
The team also gave the First class debut to Ollie Pringle who became the 524th player to get the debut cap for Auckland.
Since the match started one day late than the scheduled fixture, the team management got the time to switch the players ahead of the toss before the match began. It also didn’t go against the rules as the ICC had ready released the COVID-19 substitute in June this year.
New Zealand head coach Gary Stead who was present at the venue to watch the match said:
“I wasn’t aware until I got here this morning, that Mark Chapman had been feeling ill and had to get a Covid test. But from my perspective, it’s great that he’s not penalised for doing the right thing in what is obviously different times we face in the world.
“Just shows that we and cricket aren’t immune to that either, so following the right protocols is definitely the right thing to do.”
