Australia women's tour of South Africa suspended amidst Coronavirus threat

Cricket Australia has confirmed that the Australia women's tour of South Africa, which was to begin from March 22, is suspended as a precaution due to the Coronavirus outbreak. This step was taken to preserve the health of the players, the staff as well as a number of spectators that would flock the stadiums.

Australia were set to play an ODI and a T20I series in South Africa. The ODI series was to be played in Durban (March 22), Pietermaritzburg (March 25) and East London (March 28) and the T20Is were to be played in East London (March 31) and Benoni (April 3 and 4).

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"Australia's three-match One-Day International and three-match Twenty20 International Qantas tour of South Africa has been suspended until further notice," CA said in a media statement.

"Cricket Australia will continue to monitor the coronavirus situation at home and overseas before making a decision on Australian women's international matches beyond the tour of South Africa," the statement further mentioned.

CA also confirmed that Australian men's ODI series against New Zealand will be played behind closed doors,i.e. in front of empty stands as a precautionary measure. This virus has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and has led to about 4,000 deaths globally. Thus a number of sporting events around the world are either suspended or are being played in empty stadiums.