Covid-19: No cricket in England till July 1; India women's tour postponed

The Indian women’s tour of England, which was to start on June 25, has been postponed temporarily after the ECB on Friday suspended all forms of professional cricket in the country until at least July 1 due to the Covid-19 or coronavirus pandemic.
 
Indian women were supposed to play four ODIs and two T20 Internationals during its short two-week trip that would have ended on July 9.
 
India were supposed to play T20Is at Taunton and Bristol apart from four ODIs in Worcester, Chelmsford, Canterbury and Hove.
 
Coronavirus impact on England’s domestic cricket
 
The ECB clarified that nine rounds of fixtures will be lost in the County Championship season but "blocks for red-ball cricket and white-ball cricket will be held in a revised schedule."
 
"As much as we remain hopeful that we can deliver some cricket this summer, we are in the midst of a worldwide crisis and our priority - over and above the playing of professional sport - will be to protect the vulnerable, key workers and society as a whole," Tom Harrison, ECB Chief Executive Officer, said.

 
England's domestic T20 Championship, T20 Blast, which was set to begin on May 28, will be pushed back as late into the season as possible to give it the best chance of being played. All group matches scheduled for June will be rearranged for later in the season.
 
"That's why, simply put, there will be no cricket unless it's safe to play. Our schedule will only go ahead if government guidance permits.
 
International series postponed over coronavirus
 
International cricket, featuring England men's and women's teams, will look to be scheduled from July until the end of September, with the West Indies Test Series and the whole women's series against India (Vitality IT20s and Royal London ODIs) both moving from their original slots
 
"Our plan is to reschedule international matches as late as possible in the season to give the best chance of play. The Vitality Blast will also now occupy the latest possible season slot to offer as much time as possible to play a County short-form competition,"
 
"Our role as a national governing body during a crisis of this scale requires us to carefully plan alongside cricket's stakeholders and supporters to attempt to overcome Covid-19's impact on this season.
 
Decision on inaugural edition of The Hundred next week

An additional Board meeting will be scheduled next Wednesday on The Hundred, following a request to dedicate a further session to the competition. The ECB previously said that The Hundred would also be prioritised.

What is The Hundred tournament?

The Hundred is franchise based 100-ball cricket tournament to be played in England and Wales and administered by the ECB. The league will consist of eight city-based franchise teams, each of which will field both a men's and women's team.

Format of The Hundred tournament

The 100-ball tournament has a very unique format which would excite the fans as they will see for first time five or 10 balls over.

Following the rules and regulations in The Hundred:

• The match will have a total of 200 legal deliveries with 100 balls per innings.
• One over will consist of 10 balls.
• One bowler can bowl a minimum of five and maximum of 10 consecutive balls.
• One bowler can bowl a maximum of 20 balls in a game.

Powerplay

• Powerplay will be of 25 balls.
• Only two fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle during powerplay.

Timeout

• There is one strategic time-out of two-and-a-half minutes per innings for the bowling side.
• The coach can walk out to the middle of the ground and discuss tactics with their players mid game.

Duration of 100-ball tournament

A match of The Hundred will last two and a half hours.