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ICC won’t rush T20 WC decision

Published:Friday | April 24, 2020 | 12:20 AM
Reigning Twenty20 world champions the Windies.
Reigning Twenty20 world champions the Windies.

LONDON (CMC):

Cricket Australia committed firmly yesterday to taking “the right decisions at the right time” to ensure this year’s Twenty20 (T20) World Cup proceeds as planned, even as doubt continued to surround the showpiece amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking following an International Cricket Council’s (ICC) chief executives meeting, Cricket Australia’s Chief Executive Officer Kevin Roberts said his governing body would continue to monitor developments while also “exploring all other options”.

Australia are scheduled to stage the T20 World Cup from October 18 to November 15 but the event has been jeopardised by the onset of COVID-19 virus, which has already infected 2.6 million people worldwide and caused nearly 189,000 deaths.

Comprehensive Understanding

“Cricket Australia is working closely with the ICC, the Local Organising Committee and the Australian Government so we have a comprehensive understanding of exactly what it will take to be able to play the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2020 in October in Australia as planned,” Roberts said.

“We are also jointly exploring all other options in relation to staging the event and will take the right decisions at the right time so we can host a wonderful celebration of the sport and keep everyone involved safe and well.”

The Windies are the reigning T20 World champions and have been installed in Group 1 with the hosts, Pakistan, Zealand and two yet-to-be-determined qualifiers.

The ICC said, like the men’s tournament, planning would also continue for the women’s 50-over World Cup, set for February 6 to March 7 in New Zealand next year.

At yesterday’s meeting, chief executives discussed the impact of the pandemic on the sports, while pledging their respective boards’ commitment to dealing with the challenges posed in coming months.

A commitment was also made to rescheduling as many of the recently postponed tours as possible throughout the next three years.

However, the world governing body delayed any decisions on the World Test Championship and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League until gaining “a greater understanding of the impact of the cricket that has been lost on the competitions”.