Allan Border, Glenn Maxwell doubt T20 World Cup can go ahead with no fans in the grounds
Allan Border insists it would ‘defy belief’ for the T20 World Cup to go ahead later this year if travel bans and spectator lock outs are still in place due to COVID-19, with contingency plans already being discussed.
Cricket
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Allan Border and Glenn Maxwell both believe that the Twenty20 World Cup, due to be hosted in Australia this spring, will need to be cancelled or postponed if fans face being locked out.
The T20 World Cup, which remains the only major men’s cricket tournament which Australia are yet to win, is scheduled to run from October 18 until November 15. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has cast doubt on the 16-team event and prompted organisers to investigate a range of contingency plans.
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International travel restrictions and quarantine periods will represent an almighty challenge if they remain in place come October, as is widely expected. The likely absence of crowds is another stumbling block.
“I just can’t imagine playing at empty stadiums ... it defies belief,” former Australian captain Border told Fox Sports News.
“Having teams, support staff and everyone else associated with the game wandering around the country, playing games of cricket, but you can’t let people into the grounds. I just can’t see it happening.
“It’s either you play it and everyone just gets on with the job and we’re past this pandemic.
“Or it just has to be cancelled and you try to fit it in somewhere else.”
Glenn Maxwell expressed somewhat similar sentiments at the weekend.
“If you look at the way it’s going to be set out, it’s going to be hard for us to have crowds there,” Maxwell told ABC Grandstand.
“It’s going to be hard for us to justify having a World Cup when we can’t get people into the grounds. So I can’t see it happening in the near future.
“I can’t see the T20 World Cup surviving without any people there.”
Border added a fan-free tournament would “just be about the television-rights revenue”.
“Which all sports need. Let’s face facts ... as soon as we roll into the cricket season and no cricket is being played, everyone starts hurting in our games as well,” he said.
Cricket Australia has started cost-cutting measures and is bracing for a significant financial blow because of the health crisis.
AUSSIE BANGLADESH TOUR LATEST SERIES CANCELLED
cricketers take another hit with subcontinent series against Bangladesh postponed
Australia’s Test tour of Bangladesh in June has been postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tim Paine’s team, fresh from a dominant home summer in which they easily accounted for Pakistan and New Zealand, were slated to start the two-Test series in the subcontinent on June 11.
The widespread expectation was the trip would be cancelled because of the health crisis, which has prompted governments around the world to introduce a wide range of restrictions in an effort to curb the spread of coronavirus.
Cricket Australia (CA) confirmed the inevitable postponement on Thursday night, with chief executive Kevin Roberts calling it “regrettable” in a statement.
“I would like to thank the Bangladesh Cricket Board for the open, honest and responsible discussions that led us to this mutually-agreed position,” Roberts said.
“The health of our people and communities is the No.1 priority for both boards and that is reflected in the action we have taken in postponing the two Test matches.
“As we know, the global cricket calendar is very busy but we will do everything we can to honour our commitment to Bangladesh and will continue to work with the BCB on an agreed date.”
Australia’s next scheduled commitment beyond Bangladesh is a limited-overs tour of England in July and that trip is also in extreme doubt.
CA, other national boards and the International Cricket Council (ICC) face a tough ask attempting to piece the schedule back together whenever the sport resumes.
Especially with the inaugural world Test championship final set to be held at Lord’s in 2021.
The Australia-Bangladesh series was set to count towards the world Test championship table, likewise the recent series between England and Sri Lanka that was also aborted because of COVID-19 concerns.
Paine and national coach Justin Langer have both identified reaching and winning the world Test championship final as a key goal for their team.
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“I hope they don’t push it back too far for my sake, that’s for sure,” the 35-year-old Paine said recently, regarding the prospect of the much-anticipated game being possibly delayed.
“I think all players would be in favour of trying to finish that ... (but) if it doesn’t happen, there are bigger issues in the world.
“Maybe the players are going to have to go through a period where we play quite a bit of cricket if we want to complete the Test championship as it is.”