England women’s cricket team stars Kate Cross and Alex Hartley have clarified that they did not target the India women’s cricket team after seemingly accusing the ICC of favouring the latter in terms of scheduling the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026. The duo’s clarification came after they had lashed out at the global body’s decision to allow India to play the semi-final 1 (if they had qualified) which was slotted to take place at 8 PM IST on June 30. Following the comments, Cross and Hartley claimed that they had received death threats and abuses, and claimed that their criticism was directed at the ICC, and not the Indian team.
‘Nothing to do with India’
Speaking on No Balls: The Cricket Podcast, cross claimed that their criticism had nothing to do with India. The England cricketer stated that the ICC had scheduled the fixtures in such a manner to optimise viewership and attendance in the UK while also catering to the global audience. Earlier, ahead of India’s final group stage fixture against Australia, Cross had addressed the scheduling of the semi-finals, pointing out that India had been guaranteed to play the semi-final 1 because the ICC believed that it was the best one for them time-wise.
“That post received 450 comments. There seems to have been some confusion because I don’t think what we said warranted the death threats and abuse we received. We would like to clarify that this has nothing to do with India. According to the ICC, the scheduling was done to optimise viewership and attendance in the UK while also considering the global audience,” Cross said.
What Cross had said
As per the ICC rules, the top-placed team in Group A will take on the second-placed team from Group B in the semi-final 1 while the Group A runners-up will take on Group B winners. However, the global body had decided that India would automatically play semi-final 1 if they made it to the knockout stage. This was done to ensure that the audience both in India and the UK were catered to, keeping the prime television slots in mind. The ICC had also decided that the standard knockout bracket would be followed if India were to be knocked out.
“Everyone can plan it based on when India are gonna play. It’s absolutely mental. I don’t understand how you can go into a tournament and the governing body would prioritise one team like that. I know exactly why they’re doing it, but I think it’s absolutely ridiculous,” Cross had stated before India were knocked out of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026.
Talking about India Women, the team was knocked out of the marquee tournament after losing to Australia in their final group stage fixture. As a result, Australia faced West Indies in the semi-final 1 on Tuesday where they emerged victorious. England will take on South Africa in semi-final 2 on Wednesday.
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