In another setback for the Lancashire cricket club(LCC), the Old Trafford Cricket Ground might not be able to host the rescheduled England-India Test match next year. With a limited time period for the match to take place and an ODI game between South Africa-England set to take place in Manchester on 24th June and various music gigs scheduled to take, Lancashire has refused to commit to hosting the game according to a report by SportsMail.
With estimated figures suggesting that Lancashire lost more than £1million in hospitality income due to the fifth test match between England and India being postponed at the last minute, not being able to host the rescheduled fixture will come as a major blow to LCC. However, it is believed that the county and England Cricket Board (ECB) are in discussions on a compensation package.
The match which was the last of a grueling Test series between India and England was postponed just two hours before the match was set to begin due to COVID-19 cases arising in the Indian camp. In the middle of the fourth Test match, the Men in Blue’s head coach Ravi Shastri had tested positive with bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar following suit in the following days.
However, things took a turn for the worse when the team’s junior physio Yogesh Parmar reported a positive test just a day before the final test match. Although every player tested negative, the rising number of cases within the Indian dressing room forced authorities to cancel the match.
Although the two boards have agreed to play a rescheduled Test match, there is still no clarity on whether that match will be the series’ fifth match or a stand-alone event.
Both teams are awaiting the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) verdict on the implication of the postponed game on the World Test Championship (WTC.) It remains to be seen whether India will be forced to forfeit the game, or the game will be counted as abandoned, or ICC allow the fifth game to be played next year.
If the series ends as thing stands now, India will be declared winners by a 2-1 margin.
