England cricket chief warns global game under BIG threat if COVID-19 persists in 2021

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is currently in the middle of hosting its international and domestic home season. In July this year, the board invited the West Indies cricket team to England for a three-match Test series. The matches became the first set of international fixtures since March, as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic continues to cause a disruption to the sport in many countries.

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England’s cricket chief Ian Watmore talks about long-term impact of coronavirus

Ian Watmore recently took over from Colin Graves as ECB’s chairman. Despite of England’s hosting success that revived the board’s finances to some extent during the pandemic, Watmore reckoned that the global game would be under an even bigger threat next year if coronavirus continues to pose a problem. While writing on ECB’s official website, he mentioned that there are high chances that their next year’s domestic season will also be disrupted by the pandemic, thus causing further cancellations and delays in matches as well as enforcing play in empty stadiums.

Ian Watmore stated that the ECB still has “two years of losses to recover with only three years left of the current funding cycle”. Citing the problems of severe cash constraints for his country’s board, he also sent out warning signals for the “global game”. Watmore added that while ECB will be making plans accordingly to deal with the potential situation, he wrote that cricket boards of other countries as well as the International Cricket Council (ICC) must also do everything in their power to deal with the pandemic.

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England vs Australia 2020: ENG vs AUS live streaming details

The Australian team is currently in England for a limited-overs series between September 4 and September 16. The recently-concluded T20I series between the two teams saw the hosts taking the honours by a 2-1 margin. The first of the three England vs Australia 2020 ODIs is scheduled to be played on September 11 at Old Trafford, Manchester. The Eng vs Aus live streaming fo the 1st ODI will be on Thursday on SonyLIV in India.

Vitality Blast T20 and Bob Willis Trophy

Apart from the England vs Australia 2020 series, the ECB is also organising the ongoing Vitality Blast T20 and Bob Willis Trophy tournaments. The 2020 Vitality Blast T20 began on August 27 and it will be played until October 3. On the other hand, the 2020 Bob Willis Trophy will now conclude with the final between Somerset and Essex, scheduled to be played between September 23 and 27.

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Image source: ECB Instagram