DO IT FOR THEM.
Caribbean Life, July 31-August 6, 2020 25
West Indies Captain Jason Holder wants
England to show gratitude with reciprocal tour
By Nelson A. King
West Indies Test caption Jason Holder
has called on the English Cricket
Board (ECB) to show its gratitude to
he West Indies team by scheduling a
reciprocal tour of the Caribbean later
this year.
Holder warned that the dire finances
of what he termed Test cricket’s
“smaller countries” may not survive the
bio-secure requirements of the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic, according to
ESPNcricinfo.
It said on Tuesday that Holder was
speaking in the aftermath of England’s
269-run victory in the third and final
Test at Emirates Old Trafford.
ESPNcricinfo said Holder conceded
that mental fatigue had been a significant
factor in his team’s failure to build
on their four-wicket win at the Ageas
Bowl earlier this month, adding that
the routine of “opening your curtains
and just seeing the cricket ground” had
proven difficult for his players when trying
to rouse themselves for the rigors of
Test cricket.
However, he also acknowledged that
there could have been no other way for
the series to take place in the current
circumstances, pointing out that only
England, India and Australia – the socalled
“Big Three” Test nations – have
enough financial clout to stage international
cricket in the midst of a global
lockdown, according to ESPNcricinfo.
“If something doesn’t happen soon,
we’ll see less international cricket being
played by smaller countries because
we simply can’t afford it,” Holder said.
“We’ve gone from having four, fivematch
series, down to two and three.
And it’s very difficult to host any more
than that for us, particularly the Caribbean.
“So yeah, it is a serious dilemma that
we’re faced with,” he added. “I think
the relevant personnel really need to sit
down and have a look at it.”
Despite their series loss, ESPNcricinfo
said West Indies will return to the
Caribbean with the ECB’s lasting gratitude,
after their players agreed – with
just three exceptions – to travel to a
country with one of the highest COVID
death rates in the world, and confine
themselves to just two venues for
the entire eight-week duration of their
tour.
After an initial month in Manchester,
where their extended 25-man squad
lived and trained on-site, including two
intra-squad warm-up matches, the players
travelled to Southampton for the
first Test, then straight back to Manchester
thereafter, ESPNcricinfo said.
It said each of the three Tests was
worth an estimated £20 million, “contests
that helped to fulfil the ECB’s
contractual obligations to Sky Sports
and offset a loss that Tom Harrison,
the ECB chief executive, had estimated
could have been upwards of £380 million
had no cricket at all been played
this summer.”
ESPNcricinfo said there were, however,
some significant overheads for the
ECB to factor into West Indies’ visit —
not least the cost of charter flights from
the Caribbean and accommodation for
an enlarged group of players.
By Azad Ali
The International Council (ICC)
Chief Executive, Manu Sawhney, said
the decision to postpone the men’s
Twenty 20 World Cup had been made
in the interest of public health, following
intense deliberations among
stakeholders.
The tournament, where West
Indies were expected to defend the
title they won four years ago, was
scheduled to be staged in Australia
from Oct. 18 to Nov. 15 but the outbreak
of the COVID-19 pandemic
ended any hope of successfully staging
the event.
Globally, the pandemic has resulted
in 14.7 million infections and
611,000 deaths, triggering widespread
lockdowns, halting travel and
forcing cessation of nearly all sporting
activities.
Sawhney said the decision to postpone
the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup
was taken after careful consideration
of all of the options available “to us
and gives us the best possible opportunity
of delivering two safe and
successful T20 World Cups for fans
around the world.”
West Indies Captain, Jason Holder.
Associated Press / Ricardo Mazalan, fi le
T20 World Cup
postponed to
next year
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