The remaining Group A Women’s World T20 matches will remain in St Lucia, despite the risk of further washouts. The ICC were exploring the option of moving some of the matches to Antigua due to the state of the waterlogged Gros Islet ground and the forecast of more heavy rain.
But while there have been serious concerns over whether the remaining matches can be played, the ICC deemed it would be too difficult to overcome the logistics issues and costs of relocation.
In addition, the weather forecast for Antigua is not guaranteed to be any better than it currently is on Saint Lucia. The ICC would need 72 hours to make the Darren Sammy stadium match-ready and there is heavy rain forecast for that period. The ICC is currently attempting to fly over a second super sopper to assist ground staff.
The average rainfall in November for St Lucia is 160mm but in the past 11 days 236mm has fallen, throwing plans into chaos.
England’s scheduled match against Sri Lanka was abandoned without a ball being bowled on Saturday, with England captain Heather Knight describing the outfield as the wettest she had ever seen. Training sessions have been cancelled and England have been improvising by turning the space under the grandstand into an impromptu batting track.
The only fixture to be played so far in Group A was the West Indies victory over Bangladesh, which was held at the tournament’s other venue in Guyana. If no more matches are played at Gros Islet the two highest seeded teams, England and West Indies, will go through to the final four. But if only some games are washed out then the positions within that group may become tightly contested.
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