England have stepped up their preparations for the upcoming Test series against the West Indies by moving into a bio-secure bubble.
With the first Test set to start in Southampton on 8 July, the England team will now continue their training in a strictly monitored and safe environment, limiting interaction with the outside world as much as possible.
READ: Bio-bubble: Five things to know
The whole squad and management staff will reside at the Hilton Hotel, right next to the Ageas Bowl ground, until the end of the first encounter. From where they will move to Old Trafford in Manchester under the same conditions.
On Wednesday, the English Cricket Board confirmed that a total of 702 Covid-19 tests had been conducted between 3-23 June, which included all players, staff members, local match officials, ECB board members and even hotel and ground staff in Southampton and Manchester.
All 702 tests returned negative.
England fast-bowler Jofra Archer will join up with the team on Thursday after successfully recovering from an elbow injury, which sidelined him close to five months.
England 30-man squad: Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonathan Bairstow, Dominic Bess, James Bracey, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Ben Foakes, Lewis Gregory, Keaton Jennings, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Jamie Overton, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Amar Virdi, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
Life in the bubble begins ?? pic.twitter.com/xwisWunmu4
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 25, 2020
