It was reported yesterday that England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has offered to play host to the Test series between India and Pakistan. It has been over a decade since they played a Test match against each other. The last time they played a white-ball series was in 2013, and since then they only face each other in multi-team events. 

ECB deputy Martin Darlow proposed this idea to PCB executive Ramiz Raja. But there’s still no confirmation from either the Indian or Pakistani board. Though there’s a chance for them to square off against each other next year, if both teams qualify for the final of the World Test Championships, set to be played in the Oval. 

Moeen Ali, the stand-in captain for England, called this an “awesome prospect”, adding that “It’s a shame that they don’t obviously play each other unless it’s a World Cup or an ICC event but they’re two great teams and two massive playing nations.” 

While this received mixed reactions from both Indian and Pakistani fans, Iceland Cricket joined the conversation and proposed a much better offer than England. Known for their witty social media presence, they also took a dig at the English summer, where rain often plays a spoilsport, and wrote that they will provide 24-hour daylight in June and July. They assured ICC of providing sniper security and better live coverage on Twitter. 

“We hear @ECB_cricket have offered to host a Test series between India and Pakistan,” wrote Iceland Cricket on Twitter. “We officially announce to @ICC that we are also offering to do the same & can provide near 24-hour daylight in June and July, as well as better Tweets covering the matches. Sniper security too,” it added. 

They also revealed a trophy similar to the Ashes’ urn for the winning team, but it would be filled with “ash from our eruptions & set in a basaltic base”.

In the decades of the 70s and 80s, India and Pakistan didn’t play a Test game against each other for a stretch of over 17 years. If the situation doesn’t change in the next couple of years, this hiatus will break records.  

Lead Image: ICC/Twitter