The International Cricket Council (ICC), which has expressed dissatisfaction with the infrastructure that is in place, can move the 2024 T20 World Cup from the USA and West Indies. The USA Cricket officials are racing against the clock to prepare the venues in time for the tournament, even though it is still a year away.
If the global cricket governing organization feels that these venues in the USA will not be able to host a World Cup game, ICC may ask England to host this mega event. In a recent report, it was claimed that the USA Cricket Board is not sure if its infrastructure can host an event such as the T20 World Cup.
The USA cricket board feels that there aren’t enough resources, despite the fact that ICC asked them to build modular venues. In this scenario, ICC would be forced to ask England and Wales Cricket Board to swap hosting rights with Cricket West Indies. Notably, ECB is slated to host the T20 World Cup 2030 along with Ireland and Scotland.
“There’s a problem at hand.” It is possible that the ICC will swap hosts between the 2024 and the 2030 editions. This will allow USA Cricket time to prepare the infrastructure before 2030, and to put the house in order ,” News18 Cricketnext cited a source who has been closely following the developments.
The venues will need to be ready quickly. The 2030 World Cup was already allocated to England, and unlike other nations they can host an event between June-July .”
What are the current problems facing the USA?
The USA Cricket Board is facing major obstacles in obtaining a full membership from the ICC. The country does not have enough venues to host a T20 World Cup. The ICC’s suggestion to turn larger parks into stadiums may not be feasible, as they might not meet ICC standards for a World Cup-ready venue. An ex-USA administrator brought up these obstacles when speaking to Cricketnext.
“Where will it be held? I can tell that during the ICC site visitations which took place recently, many parks and free spaces were explored, with a little green cover. This was to create a modular setup for the World Cup. Modular stands, and all other modular items. It’s going be a huge task to pull this off, and even if it is done they are not sure if it will meet ICC standards. The ICC has a lot of checklists and I doubt that the modular or makeshift venues would pass the ICC standards ,”, said the administrator.
Atul Rai, the former interim chairman of USA Cricket, also raised this issue. “Not really. “I don’t believe so. We are not there yet. But ICC will make the final decision. Without proper infrastructure, there will be no progress. There are no existing facilities, so it is up to the ICC if they want to invest in a makeshift venue or even host some matches. It’s a tough situation to be honest,” said Rai.
