Little more than a week out from the Cricket World Cup start in New Zealand, organisers are braced for COVID-19 gatecrashing their party again.
Originally scheduled for last year, the tournament was delayed 12 months by the coronavirus pandemic, but will now take place just as the latest wave of Omicron batters the country, with record case numbers reported Thursday.
World Cup chief executive Andrew Nelson and ICC events head Chris Tetley have put on their best brave faces, while also outlining some of the contingencies in place for the event.
"We're used to dealing with Omicron and COVID in general," says Tetley. "We've delivered a couple of world events during the COVID pandemic, so we're well used to the challenges that present.
"It's all experience. We had the T20 in UAE and Oman, and just finished an U19 World Cup in the Caribbean. Each time we run an event under COVID conditions, we learn something, but we need to recognise that every country is different, so while we have experience, it's not just a template."
Among the allowances made are charter flights for teams and officials to keep them separated from general public, exclusive hotel floors designated for teams, and travelling reserves that can substitute in and out during the tournament, as required.
"We need to be flexible in the way we manage the game, taking into account these unique circumstances," says Tetley. "If it becomes necessary, we would allow a team to field nine players, as an exception for this environment.
"If they had substitutes from within their management team - female substitutes - we would enable two substitutes to play, non-batting and non-bowling, to enable a game to take place.
"We would, in necessary, reschedule fixtures if possible. There are obviously a number of logistical constraints upon us, but we'll be asking teams to show maximum flexibility and we'll be as flexible as possible, if the need arises."
Under current COVID settings, pods of 100 spectators can scatter around venues, but Nelson admits some ticketholders may miss out on attending matches.
With the final scheduled for April 3, COVID restrictions may change, allowing greater attendance for the business end of the tournament.
