Cricket West Indies states it is ‘flexible’ about rearranging a Test tour of England. Still, the governing body insists it will not endanger the safety of players to complete the three-match series.
However, the ECB has extended its delay to the start of the season because of coronavirus, with no professional cricket to happen under its jurisdiction until July 1.
Just In: West Indies Tour to England has been postponed.
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— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) April 24, 2020
England intends to reschedule all international fixtures from July until the end of September, and the Windies would be open to a change of dates, but the safety of players comes first.
Chief Executive of Cricket West Indies, Johnny Grave, stated: “We continue to be in regular dialogue with the ECB on when and how we might be able to rearrange the Test series.”
“We will only travel to England to play the series if our players can be assured that it is safe to do so.”
“We will be as flexible as we can without compromising the safety of our team.”
While Australia, Pakistan, and Ireland also have commitments on English soil this summer, a sign-off from the UK Government will be required before any Cricket series that can return.
Among many other hurdles to negotiate is that of global travel, a sensitive issue in the current environment, with the Windies admitting part of the reason their tour has been shelved is because of international travel limits.
ECB chief executive Tom Harrison stated on Friday: “We’ll need to make sure players on both sides have all been given the right level of information to get them comfortable. That the medical and health provisions are in place to guarantee their safety as far as we can, to an acceptable level of risk.”
