Former England all-rounder Ian Botham has said that he was infected with coronavirus at the start of the year. During a conversation on 'Good Morning Britain', he said that he mistook it for flu. The coronavirus cases across Europe started to increase rapidly towards the end of March. Major sporting events remain at standstill since.
"I think the thing to remember is that six months ago no-one even knew what this was, hadn’t heard of it," Botham told 'Good Morning Britain'.
“I’ve actually had it. I had it at the end of December, beginning of January, and I thought I had a bad case of flu.
“It’s amazing how long it has been around, we don’t know all the details. It was very much a sort of in the dark, let’s see what happens."
Botham said that people need to be patient, adding that life will soon return to normal.
“I think people have been responding extremely well. I hope they show a bit more patience over the next couple of weeks or so, so we can get to a situation where everybody can move around," said Botham.
The cricket action is currently at a halt due to COVID-19 pandemic across the globe. However, the three-match Test series between England and West Indies will mark the return of international cricket.
The series is scheduled to start from July 8, with first match taking place at the Ageas Bowl. The Pakistan team, which comprises of 31 members (20 players and 11 support staff) also arrived in England on Sunday to take part in a three-match Test and T20I series. The schedule for the series is yet to be announced.