NEW DELHI, Sept 10: Only a few hours before the start of the math, the fifth and final cricket test between India and England scheduled to begin at Manchester on Friday was cancelled under the shadow of the Covid threat in the Indian camp after hours of deliberations between the two boards during which several factors were taken into consideration.
Later the Board of Control for Cricket in India general secretary Jay Shah in a statement said the cancellation of the match was a “joint decision” of the BCCI and the England and Wales Cricket Board and both the boards have agreed to find a window to play the match at some later date. The possibility of a gap being found in July next year when the Indian team is scheduled to visit England again to play six white ball matches was being seriously considered and till then a final decision on the outcome of the current five-match series in which India was leading 2-1 after four matches would be kept pending.
The BCCI statement read, “The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) along with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have jointly decided to call off the 5th Test Match scheduled at Manchester in ongoing India’s tour of England 2021. The BCCI and ECB held several rounds of discussion to find a way to play the Test Match, however, the outbreak of Covid-19 in the Indian team contingent forced the decision of calling off the Old Trafford Test Match. In lieu of the strong relationship between BCCI and ECB, the BCCI has offered to ECB a rescheduling of the cancelled Test match. Both the Boards will work towards finding a window to reschedule this Test match.”
Earlier heralding a chaotic turn of events, the host board initially in a statement claimed that the visitors were “unable to field a team and will instead forfeit the match” but later changed it to “regrettably unable to field” a team. “Due to fears of a further increase in the number of COVID cases inside the camp, India are regrettably unable to field a team,” read the revised ECB statement.
The Indian side was left on tenterhooks after the assistant physio Yogesh Parmar recorded Covid positive that led to concerns that the infection could spread during the match because the whole team was in close touch with him during the just-concluded fourth test. The fifth test was eventually cancelled a couple of hours before toss.
The initial statement issued by the England and Wales Cricket Board categorically mentioned the word “forfeit” but that was later omitted from a revised media release. It is learnt that led by skipper Virat Kohli, who voiced his apprehension strongly, the players, late on Thursday, got into a huddle and couldn’t be convinced by the BCCI brass to play the game.
The BCCI issued a statement of its own, hoping that the match could be rescheduled sometime later.
“In lieu of the strong relationship between BCCI and ECB, the BCCI has offered to ECB a rescheduling of the cancelled Test match. Both the Boards will work towards finding a window to reschedule this Test match,” Jay Shah said.
A COVID-related quarantine would have meant missing out on IPL matches, starting September 19. The players are also awaiting reports of a fresh round of tests that have conducted.
“Following ongoing conversations with the BCCI, the ECB can confirm that the fifth LV= Insurance Test between England and India Men due to start today at Emirates Old Trafford, will be cancelled,” the ECB stated.
“We send our sincere apologies to fans and partners for this news, which we know will cause immense disappointment and inconvenience to many,” it added.
Ever since the Indian players refused to play despite testing negative on Thursday, there have been continuous back-channel talks between the two boards. “The BCCI and ECB held several rounds of discussion to find a way to play the Test Match, however, the outbreak of Covid-19 in the Indian team contingent forced the decision of calling off the Old Trafford Test Match,” Shah said.
Ultimately the apprehension expressed by Kohli and Co. took precedence. “The BCCI has always maintained that the safety and well-being of the players is of paramount importance and there will be no compromise on that aspect,” Shah said.
Shah thanked the English board for its understanding of the trying circumstances. “The BCCI would like to thank the ECB for their co-operation and understanding in these trying times. We would like to apologise to the fans for not being able to complete an enthralling series.” It is understood that the COVID-19 rules for the World Test Championship matches do not include forfeiture and that’s where Kohli and his men were able to get their way.
Under the competition terms of the WTC, COVID-19 is identified as “acceptable non-compliance should there be a significant impact of it on the team being able to play.” This is because the match can remain cancelled from the competition and with ICC using percentage points system based on points won in matches played, a cancelled match is of no value to any team.
The Indian players feared that the 96-hour incubation period factored in, they were at risk to return positive during the match and end up in 10-day quarantine, according to BCCI sources.
There were many questions that cropped up during the last 12 hours for BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and Shah with a number of factors being taken into account.
The chances of the IPL’s schedule, starting September 19, going haywire were also taken into account as broadcasters and franchises wouldn’t have taken the delay lightly.
Also, deferring the game by a day or two would have caused logistical issues as the Indian and English players were supposed to fly together to the UAE in a charter flight.
“There is no guarantee that post Ravi Shastri’s book release function which the team attended, there won’t be more cases. So players were wary and more so about being in isolation for 10 days,” a source said.
In addition, several team members are currently touring with their family members, including small children who are unvaccinated and the players were not prepared to run the risk of spreading the infection within their families, official sources said.
(Manas Dasgupta)