Victoria have a government exemption to travel to Sydney on Sunday ahead of the resumption of the men's domestic season this week.
The Victorians are clear to leave the state under the Victorian government's essential workers provision for all professional athletes and sporting teams and while they will be permitted to play and train while in Sydney, they will otherwise be locked down, as per the requirements of the NSW government.
It was announced on Friday afternoon that the entire state of Victoria will be put into a five-day lockdown - which bans travel beyond a 5km radius - due to a recent outbreak of COVID-19 at a quarantine hotel in Melbourne's northern suburbs.
In response, the NSW government announced that anyone in that state who has been in Victoria in the past two weeks will also have to follow lockdown rules until midnight on Wednesday.
But following negotiations with both state governments over the past 24 hours, the Victorian side are able to leave Melbourne ahead of their Marsh One-Day Cup match against NSW at North Sydney Oval on Monday and the Marsh Sheffield Shield game between the two teams at the SCG, starting on Wednesday.
"Cricket Victoria would like to thank the NSW Government, the Victorian Government and Cricket Australia for their support and guidance on the matter," a Cricket Victoria spokesperson said.
Cricket NSW have announced that a maximum of 1000 spectators will be allowed to attend Monday's Marsh Cup opener, although fans must redeem their free tickets via the Ticketek website before entering the venue.
All Marsh Cup games will be live streamed for free on cricket.com.au and the CA Live app as well as on Kayo Sports, with select matches on Fox Cricket.
While community sport has been cancelled during the snap lockdown, professional sporting teams in Victoria have an exemption to train and play over the next five days.
The Australian Open tennis tournament will continue as scheduled while there will also be a handful of AFLW games in Victoria this weekend as well as horse racing at Flemington, although crowds are not permitted at those events.
The A-League and W-League football and National Basketball League have all postponed games that were scheduled to be played in Victoria this weekend.
Cricket officials had negotiated multiple exemptions from various state governments during the recent KFC BBL seasons after several state borders closed suddenly (and applied retrospectively) during the tournament.
Big Bash players and officials were under restrictions of varying levels during the season and also tested regularly as part of bio-secure protocols, which made it easier for Cricket Australia in their negotiations with government officials.
Most state players and coaches have not been living under bio-security protocols since the BBL finished last weekend.
The NSW Breakers, who were in Melbourne on Friday for their WNCL match at Junction Oval, were also caught out by Victoria's snap lockdown. They were due to fly home on Saturday but managed to secure a flight on Friday evening instead, but it's understood they will be restricted to their homes for the next five days, as per the NSW government requirement for recent arrivals from Victoria.
The Breakers' next match is against Tasmania in Hobart on February 25, well after the stay-at-home order is due to expire, while Victoria's women's side aren't scheduled to be in action again until February 21.
NSW Blues Marsh One-Day Cup squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Harry Conway, Oliver Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Liam Hatcher, Matthew Gilkes, Moises Henriques, Daniel Hughes, Nathan Lyon, Kurtis Patterson, Steve Smith
NSW Blues Marsh Sheffield Shield squad: Peter Nevill (c), Sean Abbott, Harry Conway, Trent Copeland, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Daniel Hughes, Nick Larkin, Nathan Lyon, Kurtis Patterson, Steve Smith, Daniel Solway, Mitch Starc
Victoria's Marsh One-Day Cup squad: Peter Handscomb (c), Xavier Crone, Zak Evans, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sam Harper, Marcus Harris, Mackenzie Harvey, Jon Holland, Nic Maddinson, James Pattinson, Matt Short, Will Sutherland
Victoria's Marsh Sheffield Shield squad: Peter Handscomb (c), Scott Boland, Seb Gotch, Marcus Harris, Jon Holland, Nic Maddinson, Wil Parker, James Pattinson, Mitch Perry, Will Pucovski, Matt Short, Will Sutherland
