Ironic that ECB is asking Pakistan and West Indies to come over to England: Nasser Hussain

The ‘Big Three’ move by the ICC in 2014 received much criticism as England, Australia and India were granted more executive powers by the council. The three cricket bodies were awarded a greater share of the revenue from ICC tournaments, inviting criticism from all over the world for this controversial move.

The move failed to last long as the BCCI was dealt a major blow at the ICC meeting in Dubai, when it was heavily out-voted due to the governance structure and revenue model. Few years after the incident, former England skipper, Nasser Hussain has said that it’s ironic that teams like Pakistan and West Indies, who suffered the most because of ‘Big Three’ move, are now stepping up to help the ECB.

“I find it ironic that the two sides who’ve probably been hard done by the most by the Big Three, two great cricketing nations Pakistan and West Indies who have been hardest hit, now we’re asking them to come over to England,” said Hussain while speaking on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast.

ECB could lose over 380 million pounds due to COVID-19 outbreak

The global pandemic of the novel coronavirus has created an economic crisis all across the globe. Several institutions are facing the effect of this global economic crisis and ECB is also one of them. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, ECB could be losing over 380 million pounds if no cricket is played throughout the English summer.

Hence, in order to salvage something, ECB is trying its best for the resumption of cricket in the near future. The pandemic has delayed the start of the English cricket season until July 1 at the earliest.

“The pandemic is the biggest challenge the sport has faced in the modern era although the full extent and impact of the pandemic on cricket is as yet unknown, it is already clear that it will be extremely significant,” ECB’s chief executive Tom Harrison had said regarding the pandemic’s effect on the sport.

To initiate the sporting activities in the post-coronavirus world, ECB is still planning to stage a full home international programme starting with a three-Test series against the West Indies. The series against the Caribbean side, which was initially scheduled in June, is now set to get underway in July. Post the West Indies series, England are slated to play three Tests against Pakistan, followed by limited-overs games against Australia and Ireland.