Nottingham: Three washouts and the threat of more to come this week across England has cricket fans across the globe worried. The fact is that the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 is fast becoming a rain-soaked tale of frustration is a shame for the premier tournament of world cricket!
Summers in England are often hit by rain - which makes last year’s heat wave across the country such an anomaly.
Rain played spoilsport in Bristol during the Pakistan-Sri Lanka match on Friday, with the game abandoned without a ball being bowled.
On Monday, during the South Africa-West Indies match, only 7.3 overs could be bowled before the match was declared a no result.
Similarly, Tuesday’s clash between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in Bristol came a cropper too as the precipitation put paid to any action taking place on the pitch.
The ICC ruling
Fans are busy looking at the terms and conditions for rain-affected matches. Unfortunately, the ICC has scheduled a reserve day only for the semi-final and final matches if washed out by rain. If both the semi-final matches get washed out, then the teams ranked higher in the league stage will go through to the final, and if the final is washed out the teams share the trophy.
Teams getting hit
For example, it will be a big setback for the tournament if the talented young guns of West Indies lose out on a semi-final berth because of their washout against South Africa.
The passionate fans, many of whom have travelled vast distances to be here, were left frustrated again as they have been treated to some delectable cricket in the games that have managed to take place.
Sri Lanka, have been unfortunate as two of their matches have been washouts, that is almost 20% of their quota, considering all the teams get at least nine matches.
The ICC scheduling
The English domestic season begins at the end of March or early April, so technically, a World Cup could have been played during that period. March is one of the drier months in the islands.
Another option would have been to begin it in May and end in the first half of June to avoid a wet July; all of which were not considered by the ICC.
Was the decision to begin the Cup late influenced by a need to accommodate the Indian Premier League? One can only conjecture.
However, the ICC should certainly have been more careful in their schedule, especially with it heading into mid-July for the knockout games.
The reality is, the ICC is confident that the World Cup yet, will be lapped up by the fans in England - cricket’s governing body has already made plenty of money off it.
