Hope all teams get same prep. time if 2021 WC goes ahead: Lanning

Melbourne - Australia and New Zealand are slated to play each other in late September

Australia captain Meg Lanning is hoping that all teams will be able to get enough preparation time ahead of the 2021 Women's ODI World Cup if it does go ahead in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The fate of the World Cup is expected to be decided in the next few days.

The 50-over tournament, involving eight teams is scheduled to be run between February 6 and March 7 next year in New Zealand at six venues in Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.

"It's something the ICC will have to weigh up in whether the tournament goes ahead," Lanning said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

"Will every team in the competition have the opportunity to prepare adequately for a World Cup? There are still a few teams that have to go through the qualifying process, so I'm not sure how that will pan out."

As things stand there remain three spots up for grabs in the World Cup, between Bangladesh, Ireland, Pakistan, West Indies, Ireland, Thailand, Zimbabwe, Papua New Guinea, USA and Netherlands.

The qualifying tournament was set to be held in Sri Lanka in July but got postponed due to the health crisis. Although as per the ESPNcricinfo report if the World Cup goes ahead, the plan would be to stage the qualifiers in the UAE during November.

"There are a few more decisions to be made around it rather than whether it can just go ahead or not. It's a pretty difficult position to be in, but as a player you want things to be as equal and fair as they can be heading into a big world tournament and I'm sure the organisers will make sure that happens," said Lanning.

Australia and New Zealand are slated to play each other in late September, and India are due to tour Australia in January.

The men's T20 World Cup, originally scheduled to be held in Australia from October 18 to November 15, has already been postponed due to the global health crisis.