CWI will not take a decision that don’t make sense- Skerritt
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|| CF Correspondent ||
Cricket West Indies president Ricky Skerritt said that they will only travel if proper safety is given to the players.
In recent days, speculation has swirled about a July start for the three-Test series, which was originally carded to begin June 4 but had to be scrapped because of the outbreak of the global coronavirus pandemic
“It is well known the West Indies team was due to travel to England in other 10 or so days. Obviously, that’s not going to happen, and Cricket West Indies and the English Cricket Board have been in discussions for a few weeks now – staying in touch, keeping each other updated on the situation locally – speculating, hoping, imagining, wishing, praying that we could have the tour take place sometime in the summer,’’ Skerritt said.
“I think it would be premature for us to get too excited by what the terms and conditions would be. There’s been no confirmation of anything – different ideas have come up based on medical advice.
“Both organizations have had both medically oriented and cricket technical discussions. We’ve included the key cricket folks – coach, captain, director of cricket, speaking with their counterparts in England.”
He added: “But let’s be clear: Cricket West Indies will not be making a decision that don’t make sense under the circumstances, but obviously, unless things change dramatically within the next month or two, it won’t be normal circumstances.
“So the circumstances that prevail and the conditions that are placed will be determined to be only suitable if they’re mutually suitable.”
The ECB has postponed the start of its domestic season until May 28, but with the virus already resulting in 219,000 infections and nearly 32,000 deaths, doubt remains over when the season can actually get under way.
Media reports in England have indicated that the ECB are considering strict isolation, quarantine, and testing protocols for players and officials, along with the use of “bio-secure” playing facilities in order for the series to proceed.
While conceding that cricket globally would have to undergo changes to accommodate safety concerns once it has been restarted, Skerritt stressed that if the tour went ahead, players would not be pressured to make themselves available even though he did not foresee that situation occurring since all stakeholders were being kept abreast of discussions.
“This is going to have to be a win-win tour in terms of the arrangement. Nobody will be put at a disadvantage, nobody will be abused,” he pointed out.
“We’re trying to put things in place where cricketers can play cricket. That’s what cricketers do. They make a living out of playing cricket, and some cricketers may have to make some adjustments as we go along, especially in the first few months of the return to cricket.”
