Dublin: Cricket Ireland on Tuesday canceled the upcoming women’s tour to Thailand following the deadly coronavirus outbreak. Cricket Ireland made this decision following a request from the Cricket Association of Thailand, with countries involved in the quadrangular tournament working on alternate fixtures in the lead up to the ICC World Cup Qualifier in July.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Cricket Association of Thailand (CAT) said: “The women’s quadrangular 50-over series that was scheduled to be played between Thailand, Ireland, Netherlands and Zimbabwe in Chiang Mai from 3rd to 11th April has been called off because of concerns over the impact of COVID-19 in Thailand and across the world.”
“The competition had been arranged as a warm-up event for four teams who will be playing in the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier in Sri Lanka in July but the CAT has taken the decision to cancel in the interests of player safety after ongoing discussions with the relevant medical authorities and the Sports Authority of Thailand.”
Richard Holdsworth, Performance Director for Cricket Ireland, said: “While disappointing from a cricket perspective, the health and safety of players, staff and traveling fans is paramount, and we readily agreed with the advice from Thailand.”
“It’s an important few months for the women’s team in the lead up to the World Cup Qualifier, so we will be working on a replacement set of fixtures in an alternate location to ensure the women are prepared for this tournament.” IANS
Maxwell played for Lancashire across formats in the 2019 season, which saw them earn promotion back to the first division of County Championships. IANS