Published 10:40 IST, April 17th 2020
ECB set to cancel The Hundred, West Indies home series next week: Report
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) will be hard at work as it tries to come up with a plan to safely keep cricket alive during the English summer.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had a lot at stake during the upcoming cricketing summer of 2020. Not only was the English team preparing to host West Indies and Pakistan for Test matches post the IPL, the inaugural 'The Hundred' tournament was also supposed to be held in July. England's T20 Blast competition was also due to begin on May 28. Here is what the future could hold for English cricket after the UK lockdown.
ECB to decide the future of West Indies series and The Hundred during UK lockdown
As per a report by The Daily Mail, the ECB is going to hold a meeting soon where they will decide on how they will want to progress with the cricket summer. It is being predicted that the West Indies tour of England is likely to be postponed from its original starting date of June 4. The country is currently serving the UK lockdown and some reports have suggested that the UK may see a further spread of the novel coronavirus in the coming days.
Therefore, it is being predicted that the English team will not begin play with the West Indies on June 4. Recently, it had also been revealed that Cricket West Indies (CWI) had offered to host the series in the Caribbean with the rights and revenue continuing to stay with the ECB.
What will happen to The Hundred?
It is also being predicted in the report that the ECB may end up cancelling 'The Hundred' as changing the schedule could lead to complications for the new format. Holding the inaugural tournament without crowds would also not be favoured and therefore, it is possible that The Hundred may now be unveiled in 2021. Along with this, England's T20 Blast competition, which enjoys huge spectatorship, may be pushed back in the calendar so that it can be held in presence of spectators.
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England players missing out on the IPL, contracts worth ₹47 crore
England players like Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Eoin Morgan, Sam Curran and Tom Banton were scheduled to be appearing in IPL 2020 at the moment. Due to the ongoing India lockdown and the situation around the globe, the BCCI has announced that the IPL has been indefinitely suspended. The IPL 2020 was scheduled to begin on March 29.
Updated 10:40 IST, April 17th 2020