Cricket: Future of next two big cricket events to soon be decided

The prospect of ending a career with a World Cup on home soil is huge for White Ferns players like Suzie Bates. Photo / Photosport

The future of one of the next two big cricket events could be decided as soon as next week.

The International Cricket Council will meet mid-next week to discuss the future of the sport's calendar which has been thrown up in the air by the chaos of Covid-19.

The overarching future tours programme will be at the heart of discussions, with the two main points being this year's men's Twenty20 World Cup in Australia, and the women's ODI World Cup in New Zealand.

The first, chronologically least, is the men's event. Set for October-November, the event itself has been discussed at the last four ICC meetings, the most recent of which was towards the end of June. However, in each meeting an agreement over the postponement, or even cancellation, of the event has not been reached.

The lack of action has reportedly caused frustration within India's governing body, the BCCI. According to the Times of India "The Indian Cricket Board is beginning to work on this year's Indian Premier League, irrespective of when, or not, the statement from the ICC arrives on the T20 World Cup."

While the ICC isn't due to meet until the 15th of July, Australia's Daily Telegraph reports a decision could be made over the future of the event as soon as the end of this week.

It's an event which has gone a long way to determining what the Black Caps calendar has looked like since last year's ODI World Cup. Of the 21 matches the side played in the 2019/20 summer, 10 of those were T20s. There also would've been a further three, if not for the cancellation of Australia's tour of NZ due to Covid-19.

However, the unpredictable nature of the virus and the growing number of cases in Victoria means it's unlikely the final will be held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and potentially not at all in Australia.

The 2021 tournament is already locked in for India, making it unlikely Australia will get to host the event at all. An empty October window leaves room for the IPL to take place, however that may have to be in a different country.

Meanwhile the women's ODI World Cup in New Zealand next February-March has long been talked about as a potential career highlight for some White Ferns players who will soon be pulling stumps.

It was even going to potentially be the swansong for some players before the inclusion of cricket in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games. It still may be the final draw of the curtain for some.