ECB on brink of asking ICC to adjudicate on abandoned fifth Test, risking collision course with BCCI

The England and Wales Cricket Board on Monday night was on the brink of formally requesting the International Cricket Council ­to adjudicate on the abandoned fifth Test at Old Trafford, and risking putting itself on a collision course with its Indian counterpart.

English cricket bosses have also barred players from participating in the latter stages of the IPL, because it clashes with England's T20 series in Pakistan.

The letter would formally request the ICC to make a ruling on the final Test, with the ECB arguing that India withdrawing from the match was not due to Covid-19 on the grounds that none of India’s players had tested positive. It is contrary to the Indian board’s claim that the match could not be played.

It remains possible that the ECB could withdraw sending their letter to the ICC and instead negotiate a settlement with the Board of Control for Cricket in India privately. India are already due to tour England for three one-day internationals and three T20s next summer, and have offered either to play an additional two T20s or rearrange the Test match. Jay Shah, the secretary of the BCCI, on Monday said that the offer was contingent on the ECB not pressing ahead with their claims that India forfeited the Test match.

Under the rules for the current edition of the World Test Championship, matches can be cancelled - rather than forfeited - if there is “significant impact” from Covid-19. If the ECB send their letter to the ICC, the interpretation of this clause will now determine whether the final result of the series is 2-1 to India or 2-2, with England awarded the final Test.

This will determine whether, for World Test Championship purposes, the series is treated as a four or five-match affair, determining how the points for the series are allocated. Should the ICC rule against England, it will be a major blow to their hopes of reaching the next World Test Championship final in 2023, and be devastating to the finances of the ECB.

If the ICC determine that India cancelled the match for legitimate reasons to do with Covid-19 - on account of four members of their support staff testing positive - that would mean that the ECB are not eligible for insurance for the match being cancelled, as the policy does not include Covid-19 related cancellations.

This would leave the ECB facing a £40 million hole. The ECB would hope to reduce that to £10 million - the lost hospitality and ticket sales - if they could schedule an extra Test match, to make up for the cancellation of the fifth Test at Old Trafford, during the 2020-24 broadcasting contrast with Sky Sports, which would ensure that they fulfil their obligations to broadcasters.

Telegraph Sport understands that India’s players in Manchester were worried about Covid-19 spreading among their wives and children, which would have delayed their departure to the UAE and complicated their quarantine on arrival. Families accompanied the India squad throughout their time in England, expanding the tour party and increasing the number of people who could be infected with the virus.

The result of a Test match has not been resolved by the ICC since 2006, when Pakistan withdrew halfway through a Test match against England in protest at being accused of ball-tampering by the umpires. On that occasion the result was not formally agreed until ratified by the ICC until 2009 - 29 months after the Test - after a fierce dispute over whether the game should be recorded as a draw or an England win with Pakistan forfeiting, which was the eventual decision.

England unveiled the 2022 summer schedule before the cancellation of the fifth Test match last week. India’s limited-overs tour is scheduled for the first two weeks of July, following England’s three-match Test series against New Zealand and before England play three-match series against South Africa in ODI, T20I and Test cricket.