Coronavirus fears force first Australian game cancellation

Cricket Australia has cancelled its first game due to the escalating threat of the COVID-19 pandemic with the final match of the domestic men's Toyota second XI season called off.

Former Test spinner Stephen O'Keefe was set to push for a recall to NSW's Marsh Sheffield Shield team next week in NSW Metro's game against Victoria at Wollongong's North Dalton Park, the likely venue of this month's Shield decider.

But Cricket Australia, in conjunction with Cricket Victoria and Cricket NSW, have opted to not go ahead with the game (that was set to begin Monday) due to precautions associated with the spread of coronavirus.

Test spinner Jon Holland had also been in line to play in the match, but was understood to have withdrawn from the Victoria squad on fitness concerns. He has not played in three-and-a-half months following finger surgery.

The crowd lock-out has spread to the Sheffield Shield as well, with all games in the final round of action to be closed to fans. South Australia announced that next week's fixture against Queensland at Adelaide's Karen Rolton Oval will be closed, Victoria followed suit to announce fans will be barred from the Junction Oval precinct for their clash with Tasmania, and the WACA will be off-limits to the public for WA's game with New South Wales.

It reflected the rapidly evolving situation, given CA had earlier said there would be no changes to the Shield, but – as of Friday afternoon – there were no plans to call off the last round of the competition, nor the five-day final.

CA has put the Gillette ODI series between Australia and New Zealand behind closed doors and suspended a women's tour of South Africa due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The cancelled second XI match was the competition's final fixture of the season. Given NSW are all but guaranteed to host the Sheffield Shield final at the same venue in Wollongong the following week, it shaped as an important match for O'Keefe and other fringe NSW (and Victorian, if they qualify) players to push for a recall.

With Nathan Lyon back from Test duties, O'Keefe was overlooked against for NSW's Shield team for their clash against Western Australia in Perth next week but has 16 wickets at 22 in five games this year and will likely come back into the mix for the final.

Whether Holland is also available should Victoria hold second spot and qualify to play the Blues remains to be seen given he will have no match practice. He is not expected to be available for their final regular-season game against Tasmania at the Junction Oval.

The reigning champions were winless going into Christmas but have since won three consecutive games to surge up the ladder and into contention for a fifth title in six seasons.

A strong showing from Holland or O'Keefe in the five-day final, regarded as the closest a domestic fixture comes to mirroring Test match intensity, could prove timely given Australia's next Test tour is to spin-friendly Bangladesh in June.

Mitchell Swepson, picked in Australia's Test squad for January's SCG Test and the Australia four-day side that played England Lions last month, Ashton Agar or even Adam Zampa are the other contenders.

Victoria's general manager of cricket Shaun Graf told Fairfax that Will Pucovski (concussion) and James Pattinson (back soreness) will be out for the remainder of the season.

Test speedster Pattinson has not played since reporting back and hip soreness ahead of the 'A' game against England last month.

Pucovski similarly has remained unavailable since being concussed in the latest in a series of worrying head injuries. The most recent came when he landed heavily after his bat got stuck in the turf while attempting a run in a one-day game on the Gold Coast against the England Lions last month.

Wicketkeeper Seb Gotch is another injury concern for Victoria after fracturing the middle finger on his right hand before Victoria's most recent Shield win over South Australia.

Gotch missed the first half of the season with an ankle injury but has played an integral role in the Vics' post-BBL resurgence, posting the first two centuries of his career before again being hurt last week.

With Sam Harper taking the gloves in his absence, Gotch's return could create a selection squeeze, or be considered as a specialist batter.

Queensland are Victoria's main threat for a Shield final berth. The Bulls need to beat the bottom-placed South Australia – or draw with a large helping of first-innings bonus points and hope Victoria fail to beat the Tigers – to have any chance of overtaking them.