The fickle English weather has made an impact on matches more than once during the 2019 ICC World Cup. Four of the 45 league matches were washed out, the most in a single edition of the ODI World Cup, reports Times of India.
And rain may have a role to play once again during the semi-finals and final. So what happens if one or more of the knockouts are washed out? How will the winner be decided in case of a no-result?
RESERVE DAYS FOR ALL KNOCKOUT MATCHES The ICC has done its bit to make sure the winner is decided on the field. According to the tournament rules, there is a reserve day for all three knockout fixtures. All three knockout matches have a reserve day, which is the day after the scheduled match day (July 10 for the first semi-final, July 12 for the second semi-final and July 15 for the final).
RESERVE DAY MATCH RULES If any of the two semi-finals or the final don't finish on the scheduled day, play will resume from the same position (score) on the following day. So it will be a continuation, not a restart. If no play was possible on the scheduled match day, then a full 50 over a side match will start on the reserve day, if the weather permits.
Wherever possible, the effort will be to make sure that the match is completed on the same day. For this, the match could be reduced to 20 overs a side or extending the match by upto 2 hours.
FOR FULLY WASHED OUT MATCHES But what happens if there is no play possible to determine a winner over both the scheduled and the reserve days?
In that scenario, the team that finished higher on the points table after the league stage (team with more points) will progress to the final. For example, if the India-New Zealand semi-final can't produce a result due to weather, India will go through to the final, because they topped the league table and New Zealand finished fourth. Similarly, Australia will progress to the final if their semi-final vs England doesn't produce an outright winner.
RAIN RULE FOR THE FINAL For the final, if there is no play possible on the scheduled day (July 14) as well as the reserve day (July 15), then the trophy will be shared by the two finalists.
TIE-BREAKER RULES If any of three knockout fixtures, two semi-finals or the final, end in a tie, the winner will be decided by a Super Over.