The England skipper is "pretty gutted" by the decision to delay the tournament scheduled to take place in New Zealand between February and March in 2021
England captain Heather Knight has led criticism of the decision to postpone the 50-over Women's World Cup, originally scheduled to take place in New Zealand next year, until 2022.
The eight-team tournament was due to take place between February 6 and March 7 next year, but the ICC's International Business Corporation have acted swiftly with COVID-19 pandemic showing few signs of slowing down.
No women's international cricket has been played since the T20 World Cup final at the beginning of March.
“Pretty gutted, to be honest," the skipper of the defending champions from 2017, wrote on Twitter. "I know tough decisions have to be made right now and it would have taken a lot of work and money, but it was feasible in New Zealand.
The 29-year-old added: “Hopefully, it’s not an excuse for boards to put women’s cricket on the back burner for the next 12 months with no World Cup to prepare for [sic].”
Teammate Alexandra Hartley looked at the positives amid the disappointing news. “Captain, don’t worry! We can be world champions for five years and not four," she responded.
Pretty gutted to be honest. I know tough decisions have to be made right now & it would have taken a lot of work (and $$), but it was feasible in NZ. Hopefully it’s not an excuse for boards to put women’s cricket on the back burner for the next 12 months with no WC to prepare for https://t.co/a2jXOlySua
— Heather Knight (@Heatherknight55) August 8, 2020
The decision comes despite hosts in-waiting New Zealand having all-but snuffed out their coronavirus outbreak. There are currently 23 active cases of the virus in the country.
Meanwhile, India, where the men's T20 World Cup in 2021 is set to be played, has 611,000 cases but remains as host of the showcase tournament.
The 2020 men's tournament was due to take place in Australia in October and November this year but that has now been delayed until 2022.
News of the scheduling changes come after the women's Indian Premier League - the T20 Challenge - was confirmed to clash with the Women's Big Bash League in Australia, in November.
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