Auckland seamer Ben Lister has become the first Covid-19 substitute after replacing teammate Mark Chapman during the ongoing Plunket Shield first-class cricket championship in New Zealand.
Chapman felt unwell on Monday and was withdrawn from the game against Otago pending the outcome of a coronavirus test.
The 26-year-old Chapman, who has represented New Zealand in six ODIs and 24 T20Is, can re-join the game if his test result comes back negative.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) approved Covid-19 substitutes for Test matches in June and domestic competitions have since followed similar guidelines.
“Ollie Pringle makes his First-Class debut becoming No.524. Ben Lister starts as Covid-19 replacement with Mark Chapman awaiting test results after feeling ill yesterday,” Auckland Cricket tweeted.
TEAM NEWS | Ollie Pringle makes his First-Class debut becoming No. 5⃣2⃣4⃣.
Ben Lister starts as Covid-19 replacement with Mark Chapman awaiting test results after feeling ill yesterday. pic.twitter.com/ydc3gfZAOt
— Auckland Cricket (@aucklandcricket) October 19, 2020
New Zealand coach Gary Stead, who was watching the match at Eden Park, said he was pleased that Chapman was not penalised for doing the right thing.
“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,” Stead was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.
“Just shows that we and cricket aren’t immune to that either, so following the right protocols is definitely the right thing to do,” he added.
