The two events are World Cup qualifiers, which were supposed to take place in Scotland, but have been moved to Spain. The events in question are ICC Women's T20 WC Qualifier and the U19 Men's Cricket Qualifier.
The relocation of two qualifiers was explained by the ICC by the fact that anti-COVID-19 measures are still pretty much in force in Scotland, while the Spanish Government has decided to ease the restrictions.
Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier Moves to Spain
The ICC Women's T20 World Cup is an international cricket tournament that's meant to take place every two years. It was supposed to happen in 2022, but the ICC decided to delay it for another year.
As a result, the next ICC Women's T20 World Cup is going to happen in 2023, three years after Australia got a hold of its title. As per cricket betting sites, the reigning champion is the team with the best chance of retaining the trophy.
Of course, no one still has any idea of how difficult the 2023 competition is going to be. At this point, the only team that's guaranteed a spot in the tournament is the host nation, South Africa.
This team will be joined by the seven best-ranked teams in the ICC Women's Rankings, which means that it's very likely we're going to see Australia and all the other heavyweights getting a spot in the tournament.
Another two teams will compete in the 2023 Women's T20 World Cup. Those teams will have to book their ticket to South Africa through the World Cup Qualifier, which starts this summer. The European portion of the Qualifier is on the program from August 26-30.
Originally, Scotland was meant to host the event, but the ICC has moved it to Spain, despite the fact that this country doesn't have its representatives in the Qualifier. La Manga is the place where Scotland is going to be joined by its competitors – France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Turkey.
U19 Men's Cricket World Cup Europe Qualifier Moved to La Manga
Women's T20 WC Qualifier isn't the only cricket event that ended up moved from Scotland to Spain. The same goes for the U19 Men's WC Europe Qualifier, which is now scheduled to take place from September 19 to 25.
La Manga, a peninsula in the southern part of Spain, is the place where Scotland, Jersey, the Netherlands, and Ireland will compete for a World Cup berth. Only one of those four teams will get to qualify for the 2022 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup.
There are three other slots available in the tournament, which are reserved for national teams from other parts of the world – Asia (two spots), Africa (two spots), and Americas (one spot).
The teams that get their place in the 2022 championship via the Qualifier will be joined by 11 other teams, which qualified thanks to their good performances in the previous tournament. The teams in question are the following:
- West Indies (host)
- Afghanistan
- Australia
- Bangladesh
- England
- India
- New Zealand
- Pakistan
- South Africa
- Sri Lanka
- Zimbabwe
The 2022 U19 Cricket World Cup will be the 14th edition of the championship, as well as the first time West Indies are hosting the event.
COVID-19 Keeps Causing Chaos in the World of Cricket
The ICC's decision to move two Qualifiers from Scotland to Spain is just one of the many decisions influenced by the coronavirus. Due to the COVID-19 restrictions in Africa, one U19 WC qualifying event ended up cancelled in this region.
Six African nations – Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Tanzania – were supposed to battle each other for a place in the next stage of the qualification. However, the ICC concluded that it was impossible to hold the event.
Instead, the Council decided to promote Tanzania and Rwanda to the next stage, where they will be joined by three other teams – Namibia, Nigeria, and Uganda.
Another change of plan happened in Namibia, where the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2 series were supposed to happen next month. However, due to a worsening COVID-19 situation in the country, the ICC decided to postpone the event for another year.
Still, the biggest plan change in the world of cricket was the one involving the Indian Premier League. Due to the problems India is having with COVID, the league was stopped, postponed, and finally moved to a different country.
In early May, the President of the BCCI Sourav Ganguly announced that the 2021 IPL season will not be concluded in India. Instead, the remaining matches are going to be played in the United Arab Emirates in September/October.