New Zealand Cricket (NZC) turned down the ECB’s request to move the dates of England’s women’s tour of New Zealand. The Women’s Premier League (WPL) commitments in India had rendered players unavailable; hence, the ECB had requested to change the dates. Two players pulled out of their contracts with their teams, and four players will miss the first three Twenty20 internationals.
Three ODIs and five T20Is were scheduled for March 19–April 6 on the tour, which NZC had approved in July. The BCCI recently released the WPL schedule, which culminated with the final in Delhi on March 17, and it conflicted with the tour’s March 19 start date in Dunedin. In response to the ECB’s appeal, NZC confirmed the tour’s scheduled dates and cited logistical limitations.
“To ensure that every player was available for the New Zealand series, we looked into every possibility, but things didn’t quite work out as we had hoped. Yes, other boards may have done certain things, but to be honest, those things are completely outside of our control. It’s a really unusual scenario, so we’ve got to respond to it as best we can. According to ESPNCricinfo, Lewis stated, “It’s quite complex. We talk to everyone as individuals and work out what we think is the best plan for them.”
WPL dates were announced much later than expected. Lewis
Jon Lewis, the coach of England Women, blamed the scheduling conflict for the WPL schedule’s delayed release, which occurred months after NZC confirmed England’s tour dates. The ECB informed the eight England players who were under contract with the WPL that they needed to return from India before the knockout stages in order to be considered for selection in the first three Twenty20 Internationals. Lauren Bell of UP Warriorz and Heather Knight of Royal Challengers Bangalore cited this necessity in their contract withdrawals last week, thus ending their careers.
For a very long time, [the series] was in our journal. The release date of the WPL was delayed. As with the men’s game, all international boards will create a window for the WPL in the future, according to Lewis.
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