The England and Wales Cricket Board(ECB) has appealed to the International Cricket Council (ICC) to start the adjudication procedure for the cancelled Manchester Test match. The ECB released a statement 2 hours before the beginning of the match, stating that the game had been officially cancelled due to the refusal of a few Indian cricketers to participate.

There are 2 options right now. The result shall be declared null and worthless if the ICC’s Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) concludes that the match was cancelled for reasonable cause under the ICC’s COVID allowances criteria. In such a situation, India will take a 2-1 lead in the series.

If it is determined that India surrendered the match, the game will be given to the British, bringing the series to a 2-2 tie. Teams are not permitted to play in limited scenarios during the World Test Championship.

The conditions state, “Any matches that do not take place due to the Acceptable Non-Compliance of one or both Parties (as defined in the World Test Championship Competition Terms) shall not be taken into account in the calculation of the Points Percentage.”

It’s actually regarded as a forfeiture or something else: (Harrison) ECB Appealed ICC

The ECB chief executive, Tom Harrison, has already announced that the Manchester Test will be cancelled owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, he said that the match was cancelled due to mental health and well-being concerns.

“This is not a COVID cancellation. The match was cancelled because of serious concerns over the mental health and well-being of one of the teams and there is a difference… We have the ICC adjudicate over whether this series is completed now, whether that fifth match is null and void or whether it’s actually regarded as a forfeiture or something else,” Harrison said.

Additionally, the apex board will order a report on the events in Manchester once the adjudication process begins. The report will then be forwarded to Michael Beloff QC, the DRC’s chairman, who will assess whether the cancellation was made in accordance with COVID standards or if India forfeited the game.

The ECB and Lancashire Cricket will lose huge amounts of money as a result of the Test being cancelled. The boards are likely to reduce some of the financial damage if the cause for cancelling the match isn’t determined to be in breach of COVID standards.