The Over-50s Cricket World Cup, being staged in and around Cape Town, South Africa, has been cancelled with immediate effect because of the situation with the Covid-19 virus.
Part of the action in this O50 journey
The Organising Committee took this decision during the course of the third round of matches, which were then abandoned after the first innings.
The organisers have decided to have a full restart to the tournament in South Africa in 2021. This means that the Over 50 World Cup that was expected to kick off in 2022 will now be shifted to 2023.
The West Indies over-50 squad enjoyed two brilliant warmup matches, wherein they lost against South Africa but won against India. However, in their first official matchup — against New Zealand — they lost by 36 runs; and in match number two, they lost to defending champions Australia by 3 wickets.
West Indies Over 50 Captain, Zamin Amin
Only one innings was played in match#3, and the Windies were well on their way to winning their first match against Canada, having recorded 243/7 off their 45 overs, but the match was abandoned. This meant that after two matches in Group A, they were at the bottom of the table.
However, had the World Cup progressed, they would have had a 50/50 chance of qualifying, if they had won the rest of their games.
In a statement, Chairman of the Over-50 CWC, Stirling Hamman, said: “At the moment, there is no suggestion that anybody has got it (COVID-19). If they had gotten it, it would have passed through the group and ramifications would have been dire. For the duty of care we have for the players, we had to take that course of action.”
Also reflecting on the tournament, West Indies Over 50 Captain Zamin Amin said, “For us, some of the teams we have played already, and I felt that we can compete with them at this level. Yes, we lost our first two games, but given the ability of our team, I feel we can compete with them next time.”
Chairman, Over-50 CWC, Stirling Hamman
The West Indies O50 are currently in discussions to play Canada in a three-match series either in Canada, Florida, or Trinidad and Tobago as preparation ahead of the next O50 World Cup in 2021.
