For the second straight year the European Cricket League (ECL) has been postponed due to Covid-19 uncertainty, the competition has announced.
Scheduled to begin on May 30 in Spain, the competition was to feature 16 teams over four weeks, until the decision was made today. ECL 2020 was cancelled in similar fashion in April last year as one of the first cricket events affected by the pandemic.
ECL Founder Daniel Weston lamented the lingering uncertainty surrounding the European region, stating that organising a competition with teams from different countries was made too difficult by complications outside his control.
“The turnaround in the situation has not happened swiftly enough for an international event with this many teams and players competing at one venue,” said ECL Founder Daniel Weston
“Unfortunately, we continue to be confronted with a health and well-being situation that hampers our chances to hold the ECL and elevate the game to a higher level. The strict restrictions on PCR testing, travel concerns and quarantines being enforced make it impossible to plan.
Therefore, we now have to take a deep breath, postpone again, and set our sights on 2022.”
More than 300 players and officials were slated to travel to the extended competition, more than double the inaugural ECL, which featured eight teams. Partners and sponsors of the 2021 ECL have pledged their support for the competition’s future iterations.
Plans are already set for ECL 2022, with Cartama Oval in Malaga the venue for a February 7 start. The competition plans to expand to a 30-team tournament, with 12 more national governing bodies joining the organisation. Details on qualification for the tournament will be decided by tournament management, though playoffs akin to the slated 2021 competition are likely to be played.
More details of the 2022 competition will be provided when they come to hand.
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