ICC considering 'bio-bubbles' for T20 World Cup

The ICC say planning for this year's men's Twenty20 World Cup and next year's women's 50-over World Cup is going ahead despite the coronavirus outbreak.

The men's T20 World Cup is scheduled to be played in Australia from October 18 to November 15 while the women's World Cup in 2021 is scheduled for February 6 to March 7 in New Zealand.

After the ICC hosted a Chief Executives' Committee (CEC) meeting on Thursday, they said: "planning for both events as currently scheduled is ongoing".

It’s expected a final call on the T20 World Cup may be delayed until August as officials weigh up their options during the global uncertainty.

The prospect of the event being delayed until the second half of 2020-21, as flagged by national captain Aaron Finch this week, is one scenario in play.

CA has already got the ball rolling with the federal government in terms of the logistical nightmare that would be bringing 15 squads, including players and support staff, to Australia amid a health crisis that has stopped the vast majority of international travel.

Cricket Australia chief Kevin Roberts said they were working with the ICC, the government and the local organising committee to understand what it would take to conduct the tournament as scheduled.

"We are also jointly exploring all other options in relation to staging the event and will take the right decisions at the right time," Roberts said.

ICC medical committee chairman Peter Harcourt said the next step for cricket chiefs was to create a "roadmap" for the resumption of the international game.

"This will consider everything from player preparation to government restrictions and advisories and bio-bubbles," he said.

"The scale and complexity of getting cricket started again cannot be underestimated, particularly with respect to a global event. The more teams, venues and cities involved in an event, the greater the risk which has to be assessed and managed."

India's cricket board is eyeing the October-November window with much interest, having postponed the lucrative Indian Premier League because of the coronavirus.

India is also due to host a T20 World Cup in 2021, underlining how hard it will be for Roberts and counterparts to piece the international calendar back together whenever the sport can resume.

"It's great to see the football codes in Australia are looking to get back," Australia batsman Peter Handscomb said on Thursday, when asked about the World Cup.

"If that does go ahead then that can set a real good precedent for sports in Australia ... it's quite a positive step that we are now talking about sport being played again."

The outbreak of the virus has also placed a huge question mark over whether next year's inaugural World Test Championship final at Lord's can take place as scheduled should teams be unable to play all their qualifying matches.

The ICC added that discussions about the Championship's future would be held at a later date "when there is a greater understanding of the impact of the cricket that has been lost".

The CEC also agreed that the Future Tour Programme would need to be reviewed until 2023 after a number of bilateral series were postponed due to the pandemic.