Glamorgan's Asa Tribe Misses England Lions West Indies Tour After Kenya Trip

Glamorgan batter Asa Tribe will not join the England Lions tour of the West Indies. He was not admitted to Saint Kitts & Nevis, the island hosting every Lions game against West Indies A, because of a recent trip to Kenya.

Tribe had been due to join the Lions for their T20 and one-day matches. In late October he played three one-day matches for Jersey in Nairobi, against Kuwait, Papua New Guinea and the hosts, Kenya, according to the BBC.

The reason is Ebola. Saint Kitts & Nevis has a 21-day non-entry rule for non-nationals who have been in Kenya or seven other African countries, an England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) spokesperson said. Tribe is not a national of Saint Kitts & Nevis, so the rule applied to him.

The outbreak in Kenya is small but growing. As of 26 October, Kenya had reported nine confirmed Ebola cases, including two deaths, all linked to its first case, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. That first patient first became ill in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Al Jazeera has reported. Ebola cases this year have also been reported in Uganda and Nigeria, according to the UK Health Security Agency.

On the field, England Lions won the first T20 against West Indies A by eight wickets. West Indies A were bowled out for 98, meaning all ten of their batters were dismissed, and the Lions chased the total down with ease.

Tribe is back in the UK. The ECB says it is in touch with the relevant authorities. No replacement for him has been announced.

For a player, the timing is hard to read. A few weeks of cricket in Nairobi ended with a rule he had no hand in writing keeping him out of a tour he had been picked for. For the Lions, the squad goes on without him, and the T20 series is now the focus.