India vs England: ‘2-2 or 2-1 is not for ECB to decide; if match doesn’t take place, let ICC intervene’ | Cricket News – Times of India

MUMBAI: Soon after it emerged that the fifth Test between England and India at the Old Trafford was getting cancelled – which the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) first called forfeiture but soon changed it & the BCCI called postponement – the big talking point so far has been whether this series has ended up being 2-2 in favour of England and India or 2-1 in India’s favour, which was the result after the first four Tests.
Going by the statements released by the two boards, technically the series hasn’t completed. Since both the boards have agreed that they are looking at rescheduling the Test match, the series stands alive at 2-1.
Should this Test match be held anytime between now and the next year, there will be a result to the overall scoreline as much as the fifth Test. Should the Test match not take place, the BCCI and the ECB will have to mutually decide between themselves a possible solution to this or wait for the International Cricket Council (ICC) to intervene.

Technically, if the two boards were to dispute the end-result, it will be the ICC’s call to set up a committee that will look into the matter in adherence with the game’s Code of Conduct. “It’s not for the ECB to decide,” say those in the know.
With Covid playing havoc over the last 20 months, the ICC too has had to deliberate a series of changes in the Laws of the Game. “However, the one thing Covid has taught us all is that nothing is above the life and health of a sportsperson, other individuals involved with the game and their families at any given time. This is again something similar. You can’t have lives at stake, apropos of whatever the Laws of the game dictate. This is the law of nature,” say those tracking developments.

The Indian cricketers saying that they did not feel safe to go out on the field and play cricket at a time when the fear of Covid was lurking within the camp where the cricketers had travelled with their families is a fair cause of concern.

“How exactly are cricketers supposed to concentrate on a Test match when they know there’s been a Covid case around them throughout and has been closely interacting with them,” sources added.