‘Different welcome to normal’: Ben Stokes undergoes COVID-19 Test on arrival in South Africa - WATCH

The moment Stokes had the swab in his nose, he lurched and closed his eyes. His expressions left the other members of the team in splits.

England have arrived in South Africa for a limited-overs series and they received an unusual welcome which, perhaps is the new normal. It was the one of many COVID-19 tests that every guest cricketer has to take before entering the bio-secure bubble.

Ben Stokes undergoing COVID-19 Test in South Africa (Twitter)

England Cricket, the official Twitter handle of ECB, shared a video of Ben Stokes taking the COVID Test on his arrival to South Africa. It seems to be funny as the doctor asks the English all-rounder whether he is ready for the process.

The moment Stokes got the swab inserted in his nose, he lurched and closed his eyes. His expressions left the other members of the team in splits. The captions of the video read, “The lads have made it to South Africa! Raising hands. A different welcome to normal for @benstokes38.”

Here’s the video:

England players face 10 days of quarantine on arrival in South Africa. Whereas Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer will go home from South Africa after the three-match T20 series from November 27 to December 1, thereby missing the three-match one-day international series from December 4 to 9.

While South Africa hasn’t played a match in any format since March 7, England has played test, ODI and Twenty20 cricket against four countries over the English summer, during which the players got used to living in bio-secure bubbles at hotels attached to grounds.