A Year of Uncertainty and a Hopeful 2021
As COVID-19 has brought uncertainty in nearly all aspects of social life, 2020 was and still is a surreal year for us all. But the finding of an effective vaccine is getting more and more realistic, leading to the hope that a more normal way of life can be resumed sooner rather than later.
The international cricket program for 2021-2022 includes a total of 27 Tests, 63 One Day Internationals (ODIs), 45 Twenty20 Internationals (T20s), six Women’s One Day Internationals (WODIs), and six Women’s Twenty20 Internationals (WT20Is). Other minor series will be played involving associate nations.
What is the ICC?
The International Cricket Council was founded back in 1909, with its first representatives in England, Australia, and South Africa.
In 2020, the ICC now acts as the governing body of cricket and is the embodiment of a broad international platform of 104 different nations, 12 of which act as Full Members, and 92 as Associate Members.
The ICC also hosts the ICC Cricket World Cup, ICC World Cricket League, and ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup.
England’s Dates are Set: Tickets are Available
With England’s announcement that 2021 will see a hectic year for cricket, next year will kick off a tour around the country from April 2021 to September 2021, although dates are still subject to the pandemic situation. Viable COVID-19 vaccines have stirred confidence from the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board). Now, full-blown preparations are being made for the likelihood of enjoying a full summer in cricket’s native homeland, England.
The finals for the ICC World Test Championship will commence on 29 June, happening as a 3-match ODI series in Durham, The Oval, and Bristol, against Sri Lanka.
8 July will see the same English home teams in a 3-match ODI series against Pakistan, followed by a 3-match T20I series rivaled against the same opponents.
Finally, the men’s fixtures will see five tests running against India, starting on 29 June at Trent Bridge, with the final test commencing on 10 September at Old Trafford.
England Men’s Fixtures for 2021: When and Where?
29 June: Durham – 1st ODI vs. Sri Lanka
1 July: The Oval – 2nd ODI vs. Sri Lanka
4 July: Bristol – 3rd ODI vs. Sri Lanka
8 July: Cardiff – 1st ODI vs. Pakistan
10 July: Lord’s – 2nd ODI vs. Pakistan
13 July: Edgbaston – 3rd ODI vs. Pakistan
16 July: Trent Bridge – 1st T20I vs. Pakistan
18th July: Headingley – 2nd T20I vs. Pakistan
20 July: Old Trafford – 3rd T20I vs. Pakistan
4 August: Trent Bridge – 1st Test vs. India
12 August: Lord’s – 2nd Test vs. India
25 August: Headingley – 3rd Test vs. India
2 September: The Oval – 4th Test vs. India
10 September: Old Trafford – 5th Test vs. India
Apace with the scheduled dates, ticket ballots of the respective venues have already opened for pre-booked requests. The ECB has guaranteed that any pre-booking will be fully refundable if matches are postponed, or numbers have to be reduced in light of any pandemic restrictions.
All English matches will be featured on SKY Sports.
Tour of Australia
Australia also sees a hectic cricket schedule, which will kick off in 2020 and has established dates and venues planned out until Spring 2021, featuring T20, ODI, and Test matches.
The Indian Tour of Australia already has confirmed dates, then the male fixtures will head to South Africa for a series of three Test matches, of which dates are not as yet confirmed. In the meantime, the limited-overs team will be headed to New Zealand for five ODIs.
India Tour Dates in Australia
As is the case for all, changes can happen because of the pandemic situation. However, these are the pre-set dates which have been published.
27 November 2021: 1st ODI, SCG
29 November 2021: 2nd ODI, SCG
2 December 2021: 3rd ODI, Manuka Oval
4 December 2021, 1st T20, Manuka Oval
6 December 2021: 2nd T20, SCG
8 December 2021: 3rd T20, SCG
17 to 21 December 2021: First Test, Adelaide Oval
26 to 20 December 2021: Second Test, MCG
7 to 11 January 2022: Third Test, SCG
15 to 19 January 2022: Fourth Test, The Gabba
T20 Tours in New Zealand
These will happen as a continuation to the 2021 matches. The dates for 2022 have also been published already.
22 February 2022: 1st T20, Hagley Oval
25 February 2022: 2nd T20, Hagley Oval
3 March 2022: 3rd T20, Wellington Regional Stadium
3 March 2022: 4th T20, Eden Park
7 March 2022: 5th T20, Bay Oval
Australia will also see a competition running between England’s Visually Impaired team vs. their Australian counterpart, featured as a limited-overs series.
The above-mentioned tours and tournaments will be featured by Australian’s platform Kayo Sports and US’s FOX Sports.
Women’s Cricket Teams: Postponed to 2022
The ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup is one the oldest female sports world championships, with the first tournament ever being held in England way back in 1973.
As part of the Women’s Cricket World Cup, the women’s cricket games were initially planned for 2021 and were hoped to commence around February 2021. However, last August 2020, it was announced that the games were postponed by a year due to the pandemic situation.
The exact dates for women’s fixtures have not been scheduled as yet, but it will see South Africa and New Zealand visit women’s ODI and T20I series, both competing against the Heather Knights.
2021 T20 World Cup
The T20 World Cup is hosted every two years and involves the leading teams of 10 full ICC members and six associate members; all qualified through the ICC World Twenty20 competition.
The 2020 World Cup was formerly hosted in Australia, but due to such times of pandemic uncertainty, they have been safely postponed until November 2021 and moved to India. On the other hand, Australia will then host the T20 World Cup in 2022.
Awaiting a Vibrant Year of Cricket
Cricket is international, so having over a hundred games to plan all throughout a year in different countries and venues is already tough as it is. But 2021 saw members of the International Cricket Council experience a challenging year of canceling, postponing, and rescheduling.
Looking ahead, the council has managed to co-ordinate dates and venues for the 2021-2022 series.
Worldwide cricket fans and enthusiasts can now finally look forward to some full-blast vibrant months of cricket competition, all escalating to big world tournaments and the much-awaited World Cup.
Click here for the full detailed schedule of all international cricket games happening in the 2021-2022 season.