England team to call bio-bubble 'team environment' for positivity

London, May 15 (IANS) The England cricket team has been urged to use the term 'team environment' instead of 'bio-bubble' when it gathers at the end of this month for a home Test series against New Zealand. According to reports in British media, the change in nomenclature has been done to avoid negative connotation of the term 'bio-bubble' and make team camp a relaxed place to live.

Though the bio-bubble won't be as strict as the one last summer as restrictions are being lifted across the United Kingdom, the two teams will still be just limited to grounds and hotels during the Test series that begins on June 2.

"Despite a two-month gap since the end of the India Test series -- and the likely absence of players who took part in the recent Indian Premier League and are currently in quarantine -- Chris Silverwood's coaching staff and the squad will still be urged to start referring to the 'team environment' instead of the 'bubble'," said a report in The Guardian newspaper.

"It is a small change but one that is hoped will help them collectively move on from a testing 12-month period that included the white-ball team pulling out of three ODIs in South Africa when panicked by an outbreak of Covid-19 in the team hotel and saw a psychologist taken on tour in the subcontinent," the report added.

The England players had to adhere to strict norms last summer in the bio-secure environment. They had to dine at separate tables in the hotel restaurant and even wear rubber gloves to eat.