Cricket Australia has welcomed the decision of the International Cricket Council (ICC) to postpone the Men’s T20 World Cup amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We accept the ICC’s decision to postpone the T20 World Cup in Australia. It was a decision made with the safety and well-being of fans, players, officials, and staff in mind,” Nick Hockley, the interim chief executive of Cricket Australia and chief executive of the T20 World Cup 2020, said in a statement.
The ICC, having dilly-dallied over the last couple of months, on Monday finally announced that the 2020 edition of the T20 World Cup to be held in Australia from October 18 to November 15 has been postponed.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting sporting tournaments across the globe and cricket is not immune,” said Hockley.
“The complexities and risks around hosting a 16-team international event in October in the current environment ultimately proved sufficient for the ICC to postpone the event.”
Australia and India remain hosts of the next two events, but which country hosts which year is still to be determined in order to allow the ICC to continue to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and increase the chance of staging two T20 World Cups.
Hockley expressed confidence that Australia would host an outstanding tournament when a revised date is set.
“A lot of hard work has gone into hosting the tournament in Australia this year and I would like to thank everyone involved for their passion and commitment.
“The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup earlier this year will forever be remembered as a groundbreaking moment in Australian sport, and I have no doubt the men’s edition will also be a spectacular event.
“We are confident that with this decision, we will give ourselves the best chance to safely welcome fans into the outstanding venues across the country to enjoy watching the world’s best men’s cricketers compete in this major global event in either 2021 or 2022,” he added.
