The chief executives’ council (CEC) of the International Cricket Council (ICC) will meet via video-conferencing on Thursday to discuss the reworking of the World Test Championship and the ICC Men’s Cricket Super League as well as the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in Australia later this year, in light of the coronavirus pandemic that has brought sports to a standstill globally.
Sportstar first reported on Friday that cricket’s ruling body and its member boards are working overtime to get the international events calendar in order once again.
The meeting, involving the chief executive officers (CEOs) of the 12 full members and the three associate representatives, will provide an opportunity for the CEC to “collectively consider the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sport.”
The purpose of the meeting, according to ICC, is to gain a “full understanding” of the members’ priorities during this time. It will also discuss and share the key mitigation factors required to resume international cricket based on government advice in each territory.
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The CEC will discuss the approach to rescheduling postponed series and the need for collectively reviewing the Future Tour Programme (FTP) through to 2023 as well as the World Test Championship and Cricket World Cup Super League. It will also receive an update on the continuing contingency planning for all ICC global events, including the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2020.
ICC chief executive Manu Sawhney, ahead of the important meeting, said, “This meeting is the first step of a collective process as we assess the impact of this ongoing global pandemic and work together so the sport can emerge from it in a strong position. We need to share knowledge and start to build a deep understanding of what it will take to resume international cricket.”
“The scale of this task should not be underestimated and will encompass myriad factors until the public health situation has improved to a point that it is safe for our players, our employees, our fans, and in a way that will not impact the public health situation adversely. Countries will start to reopen at different stages and in different ways and we will need to respect that and have a holistic view of this to enable us to take well-informed decisions that mitigate the various risks as much as possible.”
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“In relation to ICC events,” added Sawhney, “including the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, we will continue to take advice from experts and authorities, including the Australian government. We will utilise all of the data and information available to us to ensure we can take responsible decisions around all competitions at an appropriate time that are in the best interests of our sport."
The ICC, feel some observers, has a huge task at hand. The World Test Championship was at the halfway point and the One-Day Super League had not even taken off when the world went into lockdown. The T20 World Cup is a global event very different to a bilateral series (15 teams plus the host and the ICC managing team).
For the ICC, it is going to be a gigantic task to convince 17 governments to go allow their respective team’s participation.
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