Taylor urges ICC to make decision on T20 WC this week; bored of shadow batting in backyard: Warner

Former Australia cricket captain Mark Taylor has urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to make a decision this week on whether the men’s Twenty20 (T20) World Cup will go ahead in October.

The ICC board is due to meet on May 28 to discuss a number of issues related to the novel coronavirus outbreak and Taylor said he thought they should also address the World Cup, which is due to be held in Australia from Oct. 18 to Nov. 15.

“It would probably be good (if a decision is made)” Taylor, who is also a Cricket Australia director, told the Nine Network on Sunday. “Because then everyone can start planning and we can stop sitting here and saying ‘well ifs, buts or maybes’.

“My feeling is the World T20 won’t go ahead in Australia in October as planned.

“Is it going to be viable to have a world tournament in October or November? The answer to that is probably no.”

The ICC had previously said a decision on the World Cup would probably not be made until at least August.

The decision has been complicated by suggestions that administrators are also keen to reschedule the money-spinning Indian Premier League (IPL) for later this year after it was indefinitely postponed in April.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has said it would not look to reschedule the tournament until after the dates of the T20 World Cup have been decided.

Taylor, however, felt the financial clout of the BCCI and the scale of salaries that players can earn for their stints in the tournament could sway decision makers.

The IPL is worth about $530 million to the BCCI and players can potentially earn hundreds of thousands of dollars for about six weeks work.

‘Want to get back on field’

Australia opener David Warner’s social media antics continued unabated but this time the destructive southpaw posted a message saying he is bored of shadow batting in his backyard and cannot wait to get back on the field playing competitive cricket.

“Ok, I am over it now, when can we start again please. Bored of shadow batting in the backyard!!” Warner said in an Instagram post with a video of him shadow practising with the Australia limited overs jersey on.

The video was originally uploaded on Warner’s TikTok page, a social media platform that the fiery Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper has taken by storm since the time cricket activities were frozen in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) recently put forward protocols that will have to be followed when cricketing action resumes.

Better prepared

Australia pacer Pat Cummins has said his team is far better prepared to face Team India than last time when Virat Kohli and men travel Down Under later in the year.

India, under Kohli in the 2018/19 series, became the first Asian side to beat Australia in a Test series in their own den. The series featured stellar performances from batsmen Cheteshwar Pujara and Kohli and the pace battery featuring Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma.

“I think we’ll be ready for them this time,” Cummins told cricket.com.au

Australia were without the services of Steve Smith and Warner in the last series as both were serving their respective bans for their involvement in the Sandpaper Gate controversy. The duo would, in all likelihood, be part of the series against India, thus providing strength to the batting unit of Australia.

Agencies