With the coronavirus (COVID-19) bringing sport to a standstill, events on the Emerging Cricket calendar have not been exempt.
Keep up to date with postponements and cancellations here as news comes to hand.
Confirmed Postponements
ALL ICC QUALIFYING EVENTS BEFORE 30 JUNE – List below
International matches held in the Netherlands until September 1.
European Cricket League 2020 (Moved back to 2021 – Full story here)
Challenge League Group A Malaysia leg
Everest Premier League
ACA Africa T20 Cup Finals
Central American Championships (men’s & women’s)
Cricket World Cup League 2 Florida
Cricket World Cup League 2 Windhoek
Easter Cup in Guatemala
European Cricket Series Catalunya and Barcelona legs
Czech Republic Malta tour
Ireland series v Bangladesh (UK/Ireland) v Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe
Japan National Trials
All Belgium Cricket Federation Activities
Namibia v Netherlands Series
All Cricket Scotland Activities and Competitions
Richelieu Namibia T20 League
Hong Kong Premier League
All Jersey Cricket Board operations (to be reviewed 30th March)
Kwibuka Women’s T20 Tournament 2020
Update Archive – April
From the Netherlands (22nd April): All international matches postponed in the country until September 1.
After a briefing from Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, extended measures have been announced to curb Covid-19 in the country, with all sporting and cultural events in the country banned.
The Netherlands were set to play New Zealand in a T20I, a quadrangular series with Namibia, Oman and the USA, and hold ODI Super League matches against Pakistan during the period.
Chair of the KNCB, Betty Timmer, expressed her disappointment, though acknowledges the need for the measures to be put in place.
“The health and safety of the players, staff and fans is our main priority, and in that light the ban on events by the Dutch government is understandable.
“We truly hope that by next season the situation is under control again, so we can host the Super League series against England, Ireland and the West Indies as planned.”
Tickets that were purchased for New Zealand and Pakistan fixtures have been refunded.
March
Thursday
6:20 GMT – BREAKING FROM THE ICC: All qualifying events due to take place before 30 June will be postponed subject to further review. This affects both the 2021 T20 Men’s World Cup 2023 World Cup.
The decision was made after consultation between both health experts and several members of the ICC, with health risks, closure of country borders and widespread travel restrictions all cited as reasons for the decision.
Events affected:
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier A – Asia – Host Kuwait; 16 – 21 April
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Sub- Regional Qualifier– Africa – Host South Africa; 27 April – 3 May
ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 – Host Namibia; 20 – 27 April
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier A – Europe – Host Spain; 16 – 22 May
ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 – Host PNG; 9-16 June
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier C – Europe – Host Belgium; 10 – 16 June
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier B – Asia – Host Malaysia; 26 June – 2 July
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier B – Europe– Host Finland; 24 – 30 June
Events after 30 June, like the Women’s World Cup Qualifier in Sri Lanka in July among others, are being continually monitored.
ICC Head of Events, Chris Tetley on the decision expressed his disappointment.
“Our commitment to the health and safety of players, officials, staff and fans is our priority when taking these decisions and we must act responsibly in the best interests of all involved and be guided by official advice. We felt that now was the right time to take a prudent decision on these events before further planning is undertaken and to provide clarity to everyone involved.
“Work will continue on contingency plans and options for both men’s qualification pathways. We will provide updates in due course on these plans and decisions on the staging of the remaining events this year.”
Friday
Former Scottish spinner Majid Haq has been diagnosed with coronavirus.
13:00 GMT – Majid announced the news via Twitter:
12:00 GMT – In the wake of Bermuda announcing their first two cases of coronavirus, the national cricket board are cancelling Easter junior and Pee Wee programs. Senior national team training has also been postponed and the office will be closed, with operations continuing remotely.
Wednesday
05:00 GMT – BREAKING out of Europe – European Cricket League 2020 has been officially POSTPONED until next year, following a Spanish Government directive to ban mass gatherings and a state of emergency declared.
On the postponement, Daniel Weston made this statement:
“Pending further developments related to the pandemic, we are forced to make this decision to safeguard the health and well-being of fans, players, officials, teams, media members, staff and the general public. Clearly, the current situation is beyond anybody’s reasonable control, forcing this sensible and swift decision to be made in the interests of public health. We are very mindful of the understandable government concerns regarding travel and public events and must play our part in keeping everyone safe and healthy.”
The league has announced that May 30-June 6 2021 will be the new dates for the next ECL, with details of qualification determined by ECL management after consultation with each respective national governing body aligned with the tournament.
The venue for ECL20, the La Manga Club, is not accepting new guests until at least 16 June as part of lockdown procedures.
Tuesday
06:00 GMT – Some cricket is on today! Tanzania’s four matches against Mid-West Rhinos of Zimbabwe, starting today, is going ahead as planned. Four matches are to be played on consecutive days.
Monday
23:30 GMT – Scotland has announced a series of measures in regards to coronavirus issues affecting both grassroots levels and the national team. The national governing body’s office in Edinburgh will close from Wednesday and all staff will work from home until at least the 31st of March.
- Scotland’s Cricket World Cup League 2 fixtures in April are currently under review and will be subject to both ICC and government recommendations. Scotland’s fixtures in the USA for CWCL2 are already postponed.
- All Cricket Scotland national, regional and age group training has been suspended until Tuesday 31st March and will be subject to review on or before Monday 30th March;
- All Cricket Scotland participation activity within schools and clubs has been postponed until further notice;
- All upcoming Cricket Scotland events, such as CricketForce, Grounds Seminar and Coaches Association workshops have been cancelled or postponed until further notice;
Cricket Scotland CEO Gus Mackay in a press release stated: “We recognise these are challenging times and are mindful that we require to remain calm, continue to take advice, work together as a sport and support each other. There will be a significant impact to cricket activities; however, we will get through this.”
Sunday
12:30 GMT – The Wales team competing in the Over 50s Cricket World Cup, tweeted that the tournament had been abandoned due to the coronavirus. South Africa’s Sport 24 is also reporting the cancellation.
Friday
1:14pm GMT – News from Cricket Namibia – Their home series against the Netherlands has been cancelled. The boards of the two countries had been in correspondence in the last week trying to make the series a ‘reality’ though the issues of air and cross-border travel made it impossible.
In a press release, Cricket Namibia states that it is committed to delivering international cricket into the country and intends to carry out the rest of the summer’s fixtures as scheduled.
The big story: The ICC board has decided its next round of meetings for the end of the month are to be via conference call. Members will convene remotely for urgent matters only and intend on holding full meetings in May.
8:40am GMT – Delhi, the IPL home of Nepal’s Sandeep Lamichhane, will NOT host matches in the 2020 edition, according to Deputy CM Manish Sisodia. Sandeep would not need a visa like that of other international players should the IPL go ahead, though reports from India are that only Indian nationals returning from holiday and intending to live there permanently are being let into the country.
8:25am GMT – ESPNCricinfo’s Peter Della Penna with more news regarding the postponement of the CWCL2 tri-series between Scotland, UAE and the USA in Florida.
7:00am GMT – Word from the PSL is there has been a crisis meeting in regards to play for the rest of the tournament, with overseas players on the verge of being sent home. USA’s Ali Khan is the only overseas player outside the Full Members.
6:00am GMT – Paul Radley of The National in UAE reports that sporting competition and training for everyone 18 years of age or younger has been cancelled. Other sporting activities in the country are to be played behind closed doors.
12:05am GMT – Belgium Cricket Federation have cancelled all activities and events in March, after heeding precautionary advice from their government. Belgium are scheduled to play Austria and Luxembourg in April, and Romania in May.
The Japan Cricket Association meanwhile has cancelled national team trials for both the Men’s and Women’s teams, as well as the Men’s Academy. In a statement from the association, selection for the 2020 squads “will be based on past performances in domestic competitions”, though good performances in domestic play in 2020 will be looked at favourably, with flexibility of adding more players.
12:00am GMT – Conflicting reports have emerged in regards to the IPL’s measures to curb coronavirus and the participation of overseas players. The Times of India reported overseas players will not be available until the 15th of April, though other sources have reported internationals may be eligible for separate visas to avoid the delay.
Thursday
12:00pm GMT – The European Cricket Network has postponed the European Cricket Series for both Catalunya and Barcelona legs. At this stage, the European Cricket League, scheduled for the 31st May to 7th June, is to go ahead as scheduled. Full story here.
12:05. You say Belgium are due to play Luxembourg on late April… they are also due to play Austria the week before and Romania in early May. Also again, the Czech Malta tour was never going to be a T20I series, rather a Czech team and two Maltese XIs.