There is a lot at stake for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in the aftermath of the “cancellation” of the Old Trafford Test and a lot of its fate lies in the hands of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
ECB CEO Tom Harrison has made public the view of the ECB that the final game of the series has not been due to Covid-19 problems and instead it arose due to “serious concerns over the mental health and well-being of one of the teams”.
As things stand now, the Old Trafford Test stands cancelled and Harrison categorically explained the “tangible difference” between forfeiture and cancellation of the Test. However, he did not downplay the issues of mental health and conceded that the Covid-19 situation can accelerate quickly for the worst as soon as it enters an environment.
"There is a tangible difference between those things [forfeit or cancellation], Harrison said. This is not a Covid cancellation. This is a match cancelled because of serious concerns over the mental health and well-being of one of the teams. There is a difference,” Harrison said.
"You can't be flippant about issues of mental health, and this is what this is about. India have been wonderful tourists, but they have been here for a long time. Playing at this level, week after week, is difficult. Even if we feel we are emerging from the pandemic, life is different for the players. When Covid creeps into an environment, it can accelerate very quickly."
Harrison has confirmed that the matter will be adjudicated and a final call on the fate of the Test and series will be taken by the ICC. He also acknowledged the “good news” of a rescheduling offer by the BCCI but concedes a lack of clarity on the nature of the rescheduled game.
"We have to just take a breath and ask the ICC to formally adjudicate on the result of this. The BCCI have offered to reschedule the match, which is good news. But whether that is part of this series, a fresh one-match series or the first match of another series, I don't know yet,” Harrison said.
As per the playing conditions of the ICC for the ongoing edition of the World Test Championship, Covid-19 can well be a valid ground for abandonment of a game. If the global governing body of the game will see the Old Trafford Test as an abandonment due to Covid, the series will end at the scoreline of 2-1 and India taking home the Pataudi Trophy.
However, if the ICC buys into the perception of the ECB that the game was called off not due to an actual Covid-19 outbreak but due to the fear of the Indian players of what might happen in the near future, the game will be awarded to the hosts England and the series will end at the scoreline of 2-2.
Apart from the series and cricketing achievements, there are financial implications for the ECB for any of the two results the ICC will come up with. If it adjudicates that the game was cancelled due to Covid-19, the ECB will lose out on redeeming its financial losses from the cancelled Test as it is not covered by any insurance for such scenarios.
However, if the ICC concludes that India could have played the game and that actually it was their apprehensions that derailed the game, the ECB will be able to claim insurance of approximately USD 41.6 million, as per an ESPNcricinfo report.
The ECB has also promised that all the spectators who bought tickets for the game will be refunded their full amount and hence the insurance money will come as a cushion for the host board.
This confusion about the fate of the series and financial chaos for the ECB continues to linger from the morning of what was supposed to be the first day of the Test.
As soon as there were words of discontent from the Indian dressing room leading up to the start of the fifth and final Test against England, there have waves of confusion and chaos over the fate of everything attached to the series, the teams and other aspects of the game.
At first, the ECB released a statement confirming that the visitors have “forfeited” the match due to the fear of Covid-19 spreading among the remaining, unaffected members of the squad.
The announcement created quite a bit of buzz as it mean that the series that was poised at 2-1 with one game would have ended as a draw with a scoreline reading 2-2 in favour of both sides. However, even before the fans and the watchers of the game could accept the reality of the Old Trafford Test being offered to England, the ECB amended its statement and omitted the point about forfeiture from the previous statement.