The coronavirus outbreak has resulted in a panic among countries. The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) which originated from the Hubei province of China has now spread like wildfire in over 120 countries in the world, infecting over 1.5 lakh people globally. Over 5,000 people have lost their lives due to the pandemic.
On Match 13 (Friday), the opening clash of the three-match ODI series, i.e. Chappell-Hadlee Trophy 2020, between Australia and New Zealand was played behind closed door amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), Sydney.
While it was surely an odd sight to witness the game being played with no crowd whatsoever, former Australia skipper Ian Chappell reflected on the same and wrote in ESPNCricinfo, “I’m one who believes you don’t necessarily need a crowd to be spurred on as a sportsman; it’s the thrill of a close contest that gets the juices flowing. Nevertheless it was a strange silence that accompanied scintillating boundaries and landmark scores at the SCG.”
Chappell further opined on the pros of having the game behind closed doors and with no fan-interruption by saying, “The upside was the absence of mindless chatter over the PA system; it was good to enjoy a game of cricket where you could hear yourself think,” added the 76-year-old former Australia skipper.
