Players' participation under doubt for ODI World Cup if Covid-19 hits Women's Ashes

As the ICC Women's ODI World Cup 2022 is scheduled right after the Ashes, the participation of female cricketers of Australia and England remains doubtful if Covid-19 strikes the three-format series.

In an attempt to give a considerable amount of preparation time to the players and considering the requirement of quarantine in New Zealand, the schedule of the Women's Ashes was changed recently.

As the stars plan to reach the Kiwi nation straight after the conclusion of the Ashes, it rules out the possibility of a player participating in the World Cup in case she contracts the virus during the final week of the series. The guidelines in New Zealand require the squads to reach there in one group and players will not be allowed to join on a later date.

Players will depart for New Zealand on 9th February after being placed in a hard quarantine for 10 days. Only those who would have a negative test report within 48 hours of departure will board the flight.

"It’s going to be tough. Our plans are still we will go as a group straight after the Ashes if things do change and we [can] get players over we’ll look to do that but at the moment it’s one group leaving, and doing quarantine together," Australia's national selector Shawn Flegler quoted to Sydney Morning Herald.

"That’s why we’re trying to put protocols in place to minimise any issues with COVID. As we’ve seen over the last few weeks with the BBL and other competitions it can be very difficult. We’ll try to minimise that and control as much as we can, but we think we’ve got to expect something may happen. That’s why we’ve got to go for a slightly larger squad to cover our bases with all of that," he added.

Owing to the rapid spread of the virus in the ongoing season of the Big Bash League, Cricket Australia is aiming to limit the time players spend indoors. Team meetings will either take place virtually or in an open space. Indoor net practices and gym sessions are also not supposed to be a part of a player's routine anymore.

Flegler also commented on the protocols, saying that will be tighter this time around. However, he emphasised that they will try to maintain normality for the players and staff.

"They’re certainly tighter. We’ll balance that, making sure our players and staff have some sort of normality.

"It’s not normal but we want to make it as comfortable as possible and making sure they’re getting into a position they can perform on the field and enjoying what’s not a normal touring life to put it bluntly. It’s not how we used to tour, things are very different now." Flegler concluded.