"Are these people sitting around table drunk?": David Lloyd blasts ICC for overloading England's schedule

David Lloyd has launched a scathing attack on the International Cricket Council (ICC) regarding the grueling schedule imposed on the England cricket team. The legendary England cricketer slammed the ICC by saying the governing body shows little regard for fans, who are left bewildered by the relentless back-to-back fixtures across the formats.

The chaotic schedule began after England's Test summer wrapped up on September 9, only to be followed by a white-ball series against Australia just two days later. This forced the England selectors to rest some players, but some who played in the ODI series have now joined the Test squad in Pakistan for the three-match Test series, which kicked off on October 7.

David Lloyd slams ICC's grueling schedule for England

In his latest column for The Daily Mail, Lloyd criticized the grueling schedule that leaves fans struggling to determine which matches to attend. The situation is worsened by the fact that England’s limited-overs specialists will soon embark on a demanding tour of the West Indies, where they will play three ODIs and five T20Is, starting October 31.

If that weren't enough, the England cricket team is also scheduled for a three-match Test series in New Zealand in November and December, followed by a white-ball tour of India in January next year. The ICC has also scheduled the Champions Trophy 2025 in February-March in Pakistan.

Given this hectic and messy schedule, Lloyd emphasized that such scheduling hardly allows for any warm-up games, making it increasingly difficult for touring teams to win the games overseas.

ICC knows the price of everything, but the value of nothing: David Lloyd

The former umpire and coach attacked the ICC by saying that the governing body only knows the price of everything, but they don’t value anything. He stressed that the quality should always matter.

David Lloyd was quoted as saying by The Daily Mail: “The ICC knows the price of everything, but the value of nothing. It should be quality over quantity, but it is the other way around with them. Supporters are obviously the last people on their mind. A fan would usually save up and plan long in advance for a tour; maybe join a tour group and look forward to their trip.

Now, where are they supposed to go? Until last week, England's armchair fans didn't even know if they were going to be able to watch this series at all. 'Is it going to be on TV?' 'Oh, they don't know yet.' It's ridiculous. Are these people sitting around a table drunk?"

"They don't play warm-up matches"

The former England cricketer also hailed Pakistan as a great place to play cricket. Lloyd signed off by saying, “Because of the schedule, teams have no time to prepare properly now. They don't play warm-up matches. They just rock up into a different country and start playing.

I once took England to Lahore to prepare for a tournament in Sharjah as coach and have been there two or three times with Sky. It is one of the great places to tour. Everyone talks about the Caribbean, Australia, or New Zealand, but Pakistan is fabulous and great fun.”