Fans of the sport were in for a heartbreak recently when the ICC announced that the plans to conduct a World T20 in 2018 had been scrapped. This means that the next edition of the highly followed tournament will take place only in 2020, as planned before, Down Under, in Australia.
After the colossal success of the 2016 edition in India, the ICC gave a thought of hosting the event in 2018, but on assessing the bilateral arrangements of other teams, it wasn’t seen as a possible measure.
This means that the next year of 2018 isn’t scheduled to hold any ICC event. It will be the first time since 2008, that no ICC event would take place in a calendar year. That, however, hasn’t disturbed Cricket Australia (CA)’s plans, as the board has already begun preparing for the next edition of 2020.
To ensure that the first choice and elite men and women cricketers are in the best possible shape, Cricket Australia is set to construct an $18m ‘National Cricket Campus’ in Queensland. The campus is believed to have world class facilities which will help the elite men and women the stars to train for the big events.
“Advances in our key performance programs demand that our cricketers train more like they play, and as we play the bulk of our cricket outside on turf, accessing world class facilities 365 days a year is a must have rather than a wish,” Pat Howard, a high-ranking official of CA was quoted saying.
“The National Cricket Campus will provide the vehicle for improved standards and greater access for all of our national teams and squads – male, female, all-abilities, Indigenous and indoor – as well as becoming a premier playing venue for national age titles and pathway teams,” he added.
“Australian Cricket has committed to spending more than $4m to achieve this vision, and looks forward to working with all interested parties to make the National Cricket Campus an internationally renowned facility in the future.”