There is a lot of uncertainty in the world of cricket due to the Covid-19. There are also a lot of question marks for the upcoming women’s World Cup. In Australia, four matches of the Women’s National Cricket League have already been postponed due to border restrictions. It is only if these matches go smoothly that we might get a World Cup.
As Women’s Ashes are scheduled to be held soon, Australia and England have been informed that if players test positive for Covid-19 towards the end of the ashes, they will not be allowed to play in the upcoming World Cup which is to be held in New Zealand.
The Ashes have already been pushed back a week and will be held on January 20th, 22nd, and 23rd in light of the compulsory quarantine period of New Zealand for the World Cup. The Ashes squad for Australia is to be announced by next week and the players will have to follow strict security protocols before they join the camp on January 17.
The multi-format Women’s Ashes starts on January 20, while the ICC Women’s World Cup will begin in New Zealand on March 4.#Ashes #CWC22 #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/UzcoVXxICa
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) January 7, 2022
Even with these strict protocols, the threat of COVID-19 looms over the possibility of. The future is uncertain and no team wants to risk their players or their World Cup campaign. The strict rules in New Zealand pertaining COVID-19 have been challenging for teams who have matches close to the tournament as it might result in key players of teams missing the tournament if they test positive for Covid and have to go through a compulsory isolation period.
Here is what the chief selector Shawn Flegler said when asked if a player who contracts COVID just before the scheduled flight to New Zealand will be able to travel over at a later date.
“It’s going to be tough, Our plans are still that we’ll go as a group straight after the Ashes. If things do change and we can get players over later, then we’ll look to do that.
“But at the moment, it’s one group leaving and doing quarantine together. So that’s why we’re trying to put protocols in place to minimize any issues with COVID (during the Ashes).
“But as we’ve seen over the last few weeks with the BBL and other competitions, it can be very difficult.
“We’re trying to minimize that and control it as much as we can, but I think we’ve got to expect that something may happen.”
Since the ashes and World Cup are occurring very close to one another, the protocols to be followed by these players will have to be more strict so that any casualties can be avoided. While ashes is a big event for both teams, everyone is eyeing the World Cup with England in hopes of defending their title.
Source: cricket.com.au
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