England's head coach Chris Silverwood will be unavailable for the fourth Ashes Test match, slated to begin from 5 January in Sydney, after coming in close contact with a Covid-19 patient.
Silverwood will have to isolate for ten days in Melbourne, and will join the squad ahead of the fifth Test match, in Hobart. Graham Thorpe will stand in as head coach for the Sydney Test.
'Following the latest round of PCR tests administered to the England men's touring party on Wednesday, 29 December, one family member has tested positive,' an ECB statement read. 'As a result of the positive test, England men's head coach Chris Silverwood will have to isolate for 10 days, along with his family, in Melbourne and will miss the fourth Ashes Test.'
Earlier, three members of the support staff and four family members of the England team tested positive for Covid-19 this week. As a result the second day of the third Test was delayed by 30 mins, only after the rest of the squad tested negative in the RT-PCR test.
Australia won the third Test by an innings and 14 runs, and retained the Ashes.