Cricket Australia's strict bio-security protocols saved Mitchell Starc from sensationally being withdrawn from the first Test in Adelaide after Sydney's COVID-19 outbreak.
Starc and his wife Alyssa Healy live in the same Northern Beaches area that has currently been locked down by the New South Wales Government, but were allowed to remain in Adelaide despite arriving after December 11.
Starc and Healy were granted an exemption from the South Australian Governemnt due to CA's stringent protocols which asked the pair to self-isolate for three days before re-joining Australia's Test bubble after Starc took leave due to a family illness.
"This is the very reason why throughout the summer we've had the players in bubbles and in hubs, and we've had a hugely successful summer already," Interim Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley told SEN this week.
"As we've worked almost zero community transmission, there have been a lot of calls saying, 'do we need the hubs?'
"For us of late over recent weeks, it's been not about protecting against coronavirus as much as not getting tangled up in this web of people having to go into isolation (when borders close and restrictions tighten).
"And I have to say whether it's WWBL, BBL players, BCCI, our own Australia squads they've just been absolutely fantastic in adhering to all the protocols."
News of Starc's close shave comes after both Channel 7 and Fox Sports were forced to send members of staff who lived in the Northern Beaches back home, including Test great Brett Lee.
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