The ICC has decided that the 2022 ICC Women’s World Cup will happen in a ‘Managed Environment’ rather than a strict bio bubble atmosphere. This is done in order to avoid the physical and mental drain for the players participating in the tournament. There will be no daily testing and players have to follow general guidelines and be responsible by makings sure they avoid going to places that can create transmission.
Speaking about the atmosphere during the 2022 Women’s World Cup, ICC Executive Geoff Allardice said, “I think the approach is around having a managed environment around the tournament. Testing will be infrequent; it won’t be daily testing. It’s really about players taking responsibility knowing they are in the country for a month and living away for that period not locked into a very tight bubble. It’s not going to be practical; it’s certainly not going to allow teams to play their best on the field.”
Allardice also talked about the challenges the logistics department faced in arranging Mandatory Isolation Quarantine (MIQs) due to strict Covid guidelines in New Zealand. He said, “In November, the New Zealand government increased quarantine period to ten days, so we added extra time for teams to prepare. Then it went back to seven days. So, logistically, it has been challenging with dates and timings.”
As the covid concern is still a major issue, ICC has allowed teams to take the field with a minimum of 9 players if covid cases are found in the team. Teams have been allowed to bring traveling and reserved players who can come into the side if covid issues arise.
Speaking about the crowd showing for the matches, Allardice said, “There are now restrictions on several people who can attend matches. We’re hopeful as the situation unfolds, we might be able to get a higher capacity at venues during the second half of the tournament.”
Overall, after successfully organizing ICC U19 World Cup in West Indies in February 2022 and ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe last year, ICC hopes to have a smooth and tension free 2022 Women’s World Cup in New Zealand from March 4th to April 3rd, 2022.
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