International and domestic cricket is slowly creeping back onto screens even if the gates haven’t been flung open for spectators, but the game’s future remains plagued by uncertainty.
Photo Copyright – Steve Haag Sports
A global pandemic is keeping cricket form playing its shots with the inequality of the global game exposed.
Cricket has looked to the big three to lead the comeback, but while England are staging inbound tours for men and will soon see their women return to action things are not so straightforward for India and Australia.
India’s primary focus seems to have been finding a slot for the Indian Premier League and getting the tournament off the ground no matter what.
The IPL will now be staged in a September – November window which will allow the BCCI to complete the tournament and gets its players to Australia for their proposed end of year tour.
It has not been smooth sailing for the BCCI though who have been hit by calls to dump their title sponsor over a border dispute with China.
They have also faced criticism for going ahead with a Women’s T20 competition during the IPL, as the new window now clashes with the Women’s Big Bash League in Australia.
That decision prompted an online spat between Australian women’s cricketer Alyssa Healy and journalist Boria Majumdar, who at one point in the Twitter exchange claimed to have an Oxford PhD in cricket.
Social media spats aside cricket risks turning away from cooperation and towards a cutthroat attitude that could see the game diminish rather than flourish.
Most of cricket’s member nations are currently either unwilling or unable to host international matches, and there are no clear indications of when that will end.
The ICC remains hopeful of hosting its big international events in 2021, but as cancellations and postponements continue to roll in, it is clear that cricket has some way to go before the sport is back on its feet.
The Proteas proposed tour to the West Indies, originally slated for July then pushed back to September, is now postponed indefinitely, and while CSA were allowed to host a domestic exhibition match, travel bans will prevent inbound tours until at least 2021 it seems.
Cricket may not know where it is going, but all the stakeholders would be wise to stick together.
Written by James Richardson for Hollywoodbets
