Cricket South Africa (CSA) has written to the International Cricket Council (ICC), terming Australia’s decision against the spirit of sportsmanship following Australia’s decision to postpone their Test tour of South Africa.
After initially agreeing to visit South Africa for three Tests, Cricket Australia (CA) recently decided to postpone the tour, citing ‘unacceptable’ coronavirus risk.
Cricket South Africa Asked ICC To Consider Financial Losses That Less Wealthy Cricket Board Incurs
Cricket South Africa Asked ICC To Consider Financial Losses That Less Wealthy Cricket Board IncursAccording to a report in ESPNCricinfo, the Cricket South Africa letter also claims that Australia’s decision to pull out will raise questions over the credibility of the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC). With the Australia-South Africa series postponed, New Zealand became the first team to qualify for the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) with either England, India, or Australia meeting the Kiwi in the final at Lords.
Further, CSA has also asked the ICC to consider the financial losses that less wealthy cricket boards have to incur when planned tours do not take place or get postponed. The report further added that while the CSA has not lodged a formal complaint about the matter, the letter to ICC is a “means of opening communication about finding the best possible outcome to maintain international cricket schedule during the Covid-19 pandemic.”
While announcing the decision to postpone the tour, Cricket Australia had explained that traveling from Australia to South Africa at this current time would have been an unacceptable level of health and safety risk to the visiting cricketers and Nick Hockley termed not touring the African country disappointing.
CA’s Interim CEO, Nick Hockley, had said on the matter: “We all knew the rules going in and I think that’s what’s made this decision really, really hard. We’ve done everything we possibly can to make the tour go ahead but in the end, we had to listen to the overwhelming medical advice, so we won’t be pursuing that with the ICC, but it’s just another reason why not being able to tour is so disappointing.”
Reacting to Australia’s decision to pull out, former skipper and Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) Director of Cricket Graeme Smith expressed disappointment. Graeme Smith said Cricket South Africa had been working very hard to try and meet all of Cricket Australia’s expectations.
He was quoted as saying in a Cricket South Africa release: “We are extremely disappointed by the decision of CA. CSA has been working tirelessly in recent weeks to ensure that we meet every single expectation of CA. This was set to be the longest tour in a BSE comprising a three-match Test series that was scheduled to begin with Australia’s arrival later in the month. So to be informed about the CA decision at the eleventh hour is frustrating.”
Meanwhile, South Africa went down to Pakistan by 95 runs in the Rawalpindi Test to concede the two-match series 0-2. Hasan Ali picked 10 wickets in the 2nd Test while Fawad Alam scored 109 in the 1st Test at Karachi which Pakistan won by 7 wickets.