India women’s cricket team (Getty Images)

England cricketer kate cross And Alex Hartley She has clarified that her criticism of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup semi-final schedule was never directed at India, adding that she has received abuse and even death threats after her comments were widely circulated on social media.The pair addressed the issue on No Balls: The Cricket Podcast, explaining that their original criticism was aimed solely at the tournament’s scheduling policy and not the Indian team.Cross revealed the scale of the response.“That post received 450 comments. It seems there has been some confusion because I don’t think what we said was worth the death threats and abuse we received.”He then clarified that India was never the target of his criticism.“We would like to clarify that this has nothing to do with India. According to the ICC, the scheduling was done to optimize viewership and attendance in the UK keeping in mind the global audience.”

What was the dispute about?

The debate began after the ICC confirmed the Women’s T20 World Cup semi-final schedule ahead of the knockout stage.Under tournament rules, the top two teams from Groups A and B qualified for the semi-finals. Normally, the Group A winners will face the Group B runners-up in one semi-final, while the Group B winners will face the Group A runners-up in the other semi-final.However, there was one exception. If India qualifies for the semi-finals, they will automatically play the first semi-final on 30 June, which was scheduled to start at 8:00 pm IST, a prime-time television slot for Indian audiences. The second semi-final, starting at 12:00 IST on July 3, was believed to be more suited to UK audiences, especially with hosts England still in contention.If India failed to qualify, the tournament would follow only the standard knockout bracket.

What Cross and Hartley originally said

Speaking ahead of India’s final group-stage match, Cross questioned why a team’s semi-final should be decided in advance.“Can we talk about the fact that I saw today that if India qualifies for the semi-finals, they are guaranteed to play in Tuesday’s semi-finals because the ICC feels it is best for them to play time-wise.”Hartley responded by saying that the practice was not new.“It happens in men’s cricket, women’s cricket, all World Cups.”Cross acknowledged that she understood the business reasons but believed the theory was flawed.“Everyone can plan based on when India will play. It is absolutely mental. I don’t understand how you can go into a tournament and the governing body would prioritize a team like this. I understand why they are doing it, but I think it is absolutely ridiculous.”Hartley also said that the scheduling debate may be irrelevant if India do not make the final four.“Yeah, it’s bad but it looks like they may have to struggle to qualify anyway.”

India lost, program followed normal format

The discussion eventually turned academic after India crashed out of the tournament after losing to Australia in their final group-stage match.Due to India failing to reach the semi-finals, the special scheduling provision was not used and the competition reverted to the standard knockout bracket.Australia will face West Indies in the first semi-final on Tuesday, while England will face South Africa in the second semi-final on Thursday.Following the online backlash, Cross and Hartley reiterated that their criticism was directed at the ICC’s scheduling policy, not India, stressing that their comments were misinterpreted and should not have resulted in personal abuse or threats.