logo

ICC defends no reserve day decision

Thursday, 13 June 2019


NOTTINGHAM, England, June 12 (Reuters): The International Cricket Council (ICC) defended on Tuesday not scheduling reserve days for group matches at the rain-marred World Cup and blamed the disruptions on "extremely unseasonable weather".
A record three matches have already been either abandoned or called off in the weather-hit tournament and the forecast is for further washouts this week.
The organisers have been criticised for not allotting reserve days in the group stage and outgoing ICC chief executive David Richardson said it was not a feasible idea.
"Factoring in a reserve day for every match ... would significantly increase the length of the tournament and practically would be extremely complex to deliver," he said in a statement.
The knockout stage of the six-week tournament includes reserve days but it would post a massive logistical challenge at the group phase and inconvenience everyone, Richardson said.
"There is also no guarantee that the reserve day would be free from rain either," he said.
Richardson, however, blamed the disruptions on an "extremely unseasonable weather".