The International Cricket Council (ICC) has set up a Member Support Fund worth USD $5 million to help member nations struggling to keep up with the increased cost and lowering revenues amid the Covid-19 pandemic. As per an ESPNcricinfo report, many members nations have sought the ICC’s help to keep the game going amid a scarcity of cash and increased investment.
The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has made life tougher for cricketing boards who were already thin on finances. Hosting teams and staging bilateral series have become a tough ask for such boards as now they have to prepare bio-secure arrangements for players and match officials.
"There are boards currently who are struggling and are short of cash, who have said that they cannot host cricket as it needs to be during the pandemic. Costs of arranging chartered flights, of ensuring hotels are fully bio-secure, which means booking out entire hotels - these are all extra costs that some of the smaller boards have pointed to and said, either we have more money or we can't do it. So it's trying to help cricket carry on,” ESPNcricinfo quoted an official as saying.
There have many cancellations of global tournaments that otherwise would have worked to provide cash to these embattling cricket boards and hence ICC finds it imperative to provide the grant to members.