Christchurch :Teams at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 will be able to field a side with only nine players if their squad is affected by Covid-19, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Thursday. Other announcements include an unlimited number of super overs to decide tied matches and strict protocols for teams. ICC Head of Events Chris Tetley said: “If it becomes necessary we would allow a team to field nine players as an exception for this environment. If they had substitutes from within their management team, we would allow two substitutes to play – non-batting, non-bowling – to enable a game to take place,” said Tetley. “We’ll be asking teams to show maximum flexibility and we’ll be as flexible as possible if the need arises to fulfill our objective, which is to get the games on. “We would, were it necessary, reschedule fixtures, if it’s possible. There’s obviously a number of logistical constraints upon us but we’ll be asking teams to show maximum flexibility. “I guess I couldn’t talk about playing conditions in New Zealand without mentioning a super over and we would have were it necessary unlimited super overs if we get to that point in the game. So we wouldn’t get to the boundaries count back,” he added. The showpiece event will commence on March 4 where eight teams will play each other once in the early stages and the top four move on to the semi-finals. New Zealand will face the West Indies in the tournament opener. India will begin their campaign on March 6 against Pakistan. UNI BAV MR