England face overland trek to World Twenty20
If England thought the only ashes they had to worry about this year were safely stored inside a tiny urn, the eruption of an Icelandic volcano has now forced a rethink ahead of the World Twenty20 in 10 days’ time.
The Caribbean islands might be half a world away from the exploding Eyjafjallajökull that has grounded flights across Europe, but with the World Twenty20 due to begin on April 30th that distance could prove problematic for one team in particular.
England hosted the competition last year, but if the volcanic ash doesn’t clear from the skies over Europe within the next few days, the bulk of the England squad could find themselves confronted with a long trek overland before they connect with a flight to the Caribbean.
One possibility that has been floated is that Andy Flower and his England team may need to travel by land and sea to Dubai before they can make the remainder of the trip by air. It’s a journey that, if the team has to make it, will make Liverpool’s 24-hour trip to Madrid for their Europa League semi-final pale into insignificance by comparison.
At its board meeting today ICC has, naturally enough, endorsed contingency plans being made to ensure that all players, team management, match officials, support staff and television crews and equipment can reach the Caribbean despite the ongoing disruption to air travel in Europe.
ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said: "We are doing everything possible to overcome the airline logistical challenges and we are extremely grateful to our commercial partner Emirates for putting forward a charter-flight option."
It’s an option that England could be forced to utilise if the skies don’t look likely to clear in time for their scheduled flight to depart London on Sunday.
A final decision on the ICC’s alternative travel arrangements is expected early on Wednesday, after which England can decide whether they want to take up the offer. If they do, they’ll likely need to set off on Friday and Saturday, a turn of events that would have domestic cricket implications for players such as Stuart Broad who had planned to play in the four-day County Championship match for Nottinghamshire against Surrey this week.
Meanwhile, as the luck of the Irish would have it, Ireland are already comfortably ensconced in the host destination and have been warming up for the main competition with a One-Day International match against the West Indies, and some Twenty20 matches against a West Indies XI.
Zimbabwe have also landed in the Caribbean for some matches against a West Indies A team, but there are still several other teams yet to make the journey to the World Twenty20, although England is the only one who’ll be making the trip to the Caribbean from Europe.
England’s first warm-up match for the World Twenty20 is scheduled to be played against Bangladesh on April 28th, and their first match of the competition is due to take place against the West Indies on May 3r
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