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Dubai: The Australian government and their governing body, Cricket Australia, seems to be divided in their opinion about hosting the T20 World Cup in October-November this year.
Only four days back, their Prime Minister Scott Morrison that the country will be ready to accommodate 10,000 spectators at sports venues from July as the COVID-19 situation has improved in Australia, cricket body’s chairman Earl Eddings said on Tuesday said that staging the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia is “unrealistic.”
“While it hasn’t been formally called off this year, or postponed, trying to get 16 countries into Australia in the current world, where most countries are still going through COVID spiking, I think it is unrealistic, or it’s going to be very, very difficult,” said Eddings in a virtual press conference.
“The ICC (International Cricket Council) are having meetings as we speak, it’s a bit of a movable feast at the moment,” he added.
On June 10, the ICC had deferred the decision for the second time on the upcoming Men’s T20 World Cup and the Women’s Cricket World Cup 2021 until next month.
Earlier in the day, Nick Hockley, currently Chief Executive of the ICC T20 World Cup, was named as interim Chief Executive of Cricket Australia (CA).
The apex body of cricket in Australia also confirmed CA’s Chief Executive Kevin Roberts’ resignation from the role.
Roberts has resigned following months of criticism over his leadership during the coronavirus shutdown.
Eddings informed CA staff of the decision earlier in the day, saying the board needed a “circuit-breaker” to move on from the disruptions that have engulfed the organisation over the past few months.
“Kevin agrees now is the right time for a change of leadership,” Eddings told reporters.
Roberts had been under fire since a shock decision to furlough about 80% of staff at head office in April and a warning that the game was in financial peril.
He said the cuts were to “proactively” manage the impact of COVID-19 despite the shutdown coming at the end of the season and exerting minimal impact on scheduling.
Roberts attempted to push through further cost-cutting programs but state associations that nominate members to CA’s executive board pushed back against the governing body’s proposed reductions to grants.
Players were also upset by proposals to reduce domestic scheduling and were sceptical about CA’s bleak forward estimates of revenue projections that underpin their pay.
CA’s decision to snub Perth as a venue for one of the four Test matches in the lucrative India tour in the home summer also angered Western Australia’s state association.
Roberts said earlier this month the domestic game stood to lose A$80 million ($54.55 million) due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with fans barred from stadiums and the Twenty20 World Cup to be held in Australia in October likely to be postponed.
