ECB, BCCI differ on interpretation of Covid-enforced match cancellation

The fallout from the cancellation of the fifth Test at Old Trafford is set to rumble on for some time yet with the ECB and BCCI having different interpretations of whether the match was cancelled because of COVID.

The ICC's competition terms for the World Test Championship, a contractual agreement that all teams sign, allow a match to be cancelled if a team is unable to field a side due to COVID. Cricbuzz understands that the BCCI believe the current situation falls into that category, with their players unwilling to play after the four positive cases amongst their support staff over the past week.

However, the ECB have a different interpretation. None of India's 20-man playing squad have tested positive for COVID which means there was no physical reason related to the virus why they could not take the field. In the ECB's view, the reason India's players did not feel comfortable playing was because of mental well-being concerns resulting from fears about further outbreaks of COVID within the team environment.

While the ECB have sympathy for the feelings within the Indian squad - the England team who pulled out of the South Africa ODI series late last year had similar misgivings about their bio-secure bubble - they do not view the scenario as being a COVID cancellation. "This is not a COVID cancellation," Tom Harrison, ECB chief executive, said. "The match was cancelled because of serious concerns over the mental health and well-being of one of the teams and there is a difference."

A compromise position is that the game is rescheduled, perhaps for next summer, as suggested by the BCCI in a statement on Friday morning. But even if it is rearranged, Harrison said the game could be considered a standalone match, rather than as the fifth and final Test of this series. If so, that would still require a decision to be made about this game and series, and particularly whether the match is forfeited by India or simply cancelled, leaving India with a 2-1 series win.

If there is no agreement between the two boards on this topic, the matter could go to the ICC's Dispute Resolution Committee to adjudicate. Harrison suggested on BBC radio that the ECB would be looking to the ICC to decide the result of this match. "That is not a decision for us," he said. "It's a decision for ICC to think about in the context of the World Test Championship."

"At this point we are looking forward to making sure that we can reschedule this match at some point in the near future. And then, we separately have the ICC adjudicate over whether this series is completed now, whether that fifth match is null and void or whether it's actually regarded as a forfeiture or something else. I don't know where that conversation goes but there's not one for today."

At this stage, however, Cricbuzz understands the BCCI are adamant that they will not accept the result of the game as a forfeit. Their view is that the Test should be considered as a COVID cancellation under the competition terms of the WTC and as such, the game should be declared null and void.

The matter is further complicated by the ECB's insurance position for refunding ticket sales. It is understood that their current insurance cover does not include arrangements for when a match is cancelled because of COVID. That means they could not recoup the costs of ticket refunds, estimated to about GBP 10 million, if the game is defined as such.

"There are obviously financial implications to this," Harrison told Sky Sports. "We're taking steps now to mitigate those, to make sure the things we are doing now, whether that's about rescheduling or looking at the schedule again to examine how we can minimise the consequences of something like this. You lose an India Test match, of course there is a financial implication to that. We're just trying to work tooth and nail now to make sure that's as limited as it can be."