ICC defers decision on Women's World Cup

The International Cricket Council deferred making a decision on the future of the men’s T20 World Cup in Australia and the Women’s Cricket World Cup 2021 in New Zealand until next month. On Wednesday (June 10), the ICC board agreed to continue exploring a number of contingency plans even as the planning for the events as scheduled is ongoing.



In good news for the women's event, New Zealand was recently declared pandemic free, but the ICC reiterated that they would continue to assess the situation while working with the government to "explore the possibility of staging the event."



“The situation surrounding the global pandemic is evolving rapidly and we want to give ourselves the best possible opportunity to make the right decision for the whole sport. The health and well-being of everyone involved is our priority and other considerations fall out from that,” said ICC Chief Executive Manu Swahney.



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“We will only get one chance to make this decision and it needs to be the right one and as such we will continue to consult with out members, broadcasters, partners, governments and players to ensure that we make a well-informed decision.”



The ICC is yet to make any announcement on the fate of the qualifying tournament that was recently postponed. The tournament was scheduled to take place in Sri Lanka between the dates of 3-19 July.



With only five teams - Australia, England, India, South Africa and hosts New Zealand - having confirmed their spots in the mega event, the qualifying round was meant to help three other teams secure their berths on the flight to New Zealand. All of Bangladesh, Ireland, Netherlands, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United States of America, and West Indies were set to participate in the tournament.