ECB can't advance Test series vs India due to The Hundred

NEW DELHI: The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) may not entertain any possible request from the Indian cricket board to advance the five-match Test series between Indian and England to ensure that The Hundred does not lose any more sheen, it has been learnt.

The Hundred begins on July 21 while the Test series starts on August 4. The ECB, in its desperation to save the 100-ball tournament, wants all England stars to be available for the tournament which is already set to miss foreign stars from Australia, Pakistan and the West Indies as they will be busy with international commitments.

While ECB told IANS on Friday that it has not received a request from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to advance the Test series, there has been speculation that it may want the series to finish earlier than September 14 so as to get 20-22 days to finish the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL). The tournament, which was postponed halfway through its group stage due to Covid-19 in May, could be held in UAE.

According to sources, the Board has made an unofficial enquiry, a claim backed by a report in The Times newspaper.

However, ECB has been caught in a catch-22 situation. While it doesn't want to spoil its relationship with the BCCI, it wants home Test stars like Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow and Sam Curran among others to be available for The Hundred, a tournament that is being floated as a money-spinner.

"The request (by BCCI to advance series) puts ECB in a tricky position, stuck between the rock of wanting to maintain good relations with the most powerful cricket nation as well as being as flexible and helpful as possible given the postponement of the game's most financially lucrative competition, and the hard place of not impacting on their own carefully planned domestic schedule. At this late stage, it is hard to see the ECB acceding to any potential change and it is expected to hold its ground," former England captain Michael Atherton on Thursday wrote in The Times. IANS

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