Amidst the global pandemic and uncertainties around the outbreak, global events have been called off or are being rescheduled.
Cricketing fans are gravely affected by the novel virus as well. The indefinite postponing of highly anticipated and much-awaited Indian Premier League led to the saddening of billion of faces. Another blow comes from the female cricketing streets. The Indian women team’s tour of England which was scheduled to start from June 25 has been postponed on a temporary basis. This became clear after the English cricket board, on Friday, suspended all forms of professional cricket till the first of July.
Notably, the women in blue were supposed to feature in 4 Odis and 2 shorter twenty over matches. The trip was short, and the side would have played their last game on the tour by July 9. For the T20 matches, Taunton and Bristol were the hosts. One day matches were supposed to happen at Hove, Chelmsford, Worcester, and Canterbury.
In the statement from ECB, there was clarification that nine rounds of fixtures will be lost in the county championship. However, the slots for red-ball cricket and white-ball cricket were to be scheduled again. In a very responsible statement, the Chief Executive Officer of England Cricket Board said that they (the board) remain hopeful that some form of cricket might take place in the summer. However, their priority at this stage was to fight the global crisis.
He stressed the need to protect the most vulnerable people, key people in the fight against the pandemic, and even the society as a whole. He clearly mentions that no cricket shall happen unless it was safe for the players and the spectators. Their schedule, he added, will only go ahead with the government allows. The international cricket for the English side, both men and women, will have to undergo a proper rescheduling. The rescheduling shall begin from July until the end of September.
He briefed that the test series against West Indies and women’s series against India, as a result, was being moved from their original dates. He explained that the board shall try to reschedule the international fixtures as late as possible in the ongoing season so as to fetch the chances of playing maximum games. Taking the responsibility of cricket throughout the nation, he said the role of the board as a national governing body needs them to plan things in a careful manner especially in times like these.
The planning shall go alongside the various stakeholders of the game and the supporters as well. The board shall attempt to overcome the impact of the current crisis. Moreover, an additional board meeting was called on next Wednesday to discuss the affairs of The Hundred.
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