UK is one of the worst-affected countries by the COVID-19 crisis.
England batsman Jason Roy was massively disappointed with the unavoidable postponement of the England and Wales Cricket Board's much-awaited tournament – The Hundred.
The ongoing outbreak of the Coronavirus has forced the ECB to postpone their new city-based 100-ball tournament until 2021 – involving eight teams in separate men's and women's tournaments, which was due to begin on 17 July and end on 15 August.
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With The Hundred, the ECB was aiming to attract a fresh audience to the game, Roy rued the "huge shame" of missing out on capitalizing on the buzz from last year's World Cup triumph at home.
However, England’s 2019 World Cup-winning batsman Roy, who was a top-tier 125,000-pound ($157,000) pick by Oval Invincibles for the new tournament, said it was the right decision that it be delayed until next year given the ongoing global crisis.
As per reports in Sky Sports, Roy said: “You saw the response to Sky showing the World Cup final on TV, everyone was watching it and we were getting great feedback again. It's a huge shame that we won't be able to get out in front of a home crowd again, especially after all that.”
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He continued, “But who knows what will happen towards the end of the season? It is hugely disappointing (to postpone) but there are bigger things at stake.”
Roy signed off by saying, “Obviously there was a huge incentive for the ECB, it was a huge competition that they put a lot of money into but it's only right that it be delayed until next year. You want the best players coming over and at the moment they can't. Unfortunately, that's just the way it is at the moment.”
(With Sky Sports Inputs)