As many as three upcoming ODI tri-series events in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 due to take place between the months of March and May, have been postponed because of COVID-19 pandemic, as announced by International Cricket Council (ICC).
The list of postponed series includes the one in Oman, who were due to host USA and Nepal for six ODIs between 19th – 28th March 2021. The next two series that have been postponed were scheduled to take place in Papua New Guinea, who were due to host Oman and Scotland between 14th – 24th April, followed with the series in which they were scheduled to host USA and Namibia between 13th – 23rd May 2021.
The postponements are due to the current travel restrictions between countries, the quarantine time required before matches and the recent surge in COVID-19 cases. The ICC will be working with the host nations and participating Members to find an appropriate window where the qualification pathway fixtures can be safely and practically rescheduled before the cut-off date of 28th February 2023.
ICC Head of Events, Chris Tetley said in the ICC press release “We have decided to postpone the three upcoming series involving six Members in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 competition. The ICC’s priority continues to be to protect the well-being of players, coaches, officials and fans. We have fully assessed the situation with both hosts and all participating Members, and taking into account current travel restrictions, quarantine time before matches and on government and public health authority advice in relation to COVID-19, the best course of action was to postpone these series.”
The next set of tri-series scheduled in the competition is in July 2021, where Scotland are scheduled to host Nepal and Namibia for six ODIs. The Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 competition, forms part of the qualifying pathway program to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 in India.
