A key recommendation of the ICC Medical Advisory Committee (ICC MAC) has been to constitute, for each ICC Event, a bespoke Biosafety Scientific Advisory Group (BSAG) to review and advise the Event Technical Committee on all medical and operational COVID 19 related matters that affect the health and wellbeing of participants and the operational staging of the event in line with four key principles:

• Safety First: The health and wellbeing of all participants is the principal concern of the ICC, and LOC when staging an ICC Event.
• Government Regulation: The ICC, Host Board and Local Organizing Committees (LOCs) is guided by the national and state government COVID - 19 health mitigation regulations of the countries hosting the event.
• Co-production and education: The importance of co-production with Member Boards underpinned by education, dialogue and communication with participants cannot be over emphasized. The ICC and MT20WC LOC will adopt a ‘no surprises’ approach to the development of the biosafety plan; participants will receive clear messaging and detailed information on COVID-19 protocols.
• Risk Assessment and Mitigation: To effectively plan for and stage an ICC Event, the level of biosafety risk will be objectively assessed, and periodically reviewed, to ensure the Biosafety Plan is proportionate and fit for purpose.

The work of the BSAG will be monitored under the clinical governance of the ICC MAC which is chaired by Dr Peter Harcourt. For the forthcoming MT20WC in Australia, the ICC has appointed the following experts to constitute the Event BSAG

• Independent Medical Chair (IMO) - Dr Carolyn BRODERICK
• Event Chief Medical Officer (CMO) - Dr Philippa INGE
• ICC COVID Compliance Officer (CCO) – Dr David MUSKER
• ICC MAC Chair – Dr Peter HARCOURT
• ICC Senior Manager (Host compliance and Operations) - Tulsa WOODHAM
• MT20 LOC – Patrice BERTHOLD
• Event Scientific Advisor – Professor Joseph TORESSI (as required)

By way of introduction, the Independent Chair of the Event BSAG is Carolyn Broderick who is an Associate Professor in the School of Health Sciences at UNSW, Sydney and Staff Specialist in Sport and Exercise Medicine at The Children's Hospital at Westmead. She is Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Tennis Australia and The Australian Open.  

In her role as CMO of The Australian Open Grand Slam Tennis tournament she collaborated with researchers at The University of Sydney to develop the world’s first evidence-based extreme heat policy for professional tennis. She co-developed the Sports Medicine Australia (SMA) Extreme Heat Policy which was released in 2021 and was a co-author on the Lancet series on Heat & Health, published in August 2021.

Dr Broderick is actively involved in clinical sports medicine and policy development for national and international sports and medical organisations including the International Olympic Committee, The Australian Institute of Sport, Tennis Australia and the Australasian College of Sport & Exercise Medicine Physicians to improve athlete safety at all levels of competition.

Her research expertise is in the area of injury and illness prevention in sporting populations and developing evidence-based guidelines for physical activity.

Dr Broderick was appointed as the Independent Chair of the MT20WC BSAG in April 2022.

Dr Broderick said ‘ I am delighted to be working with the ICC and cricketers from across the world who will be participating in the World Cup. Having medically managed major international tennis tournaments, I am looking forward to the challenges of cricket.’

Dr Philippa Inge is a Sports and Exercise Medicine Physician and the current Australian Women's' Cricket Team Doctor. She has worked extensively in elite sport being the CMO for the CA BBL and WBBL, at the Tokyo Olympics with the Australian Paralympic Team in 2021 and with the AFL; she was appointed as the CMO for the MT20WC in 2019.

Dr Inge said, ‘ I am excited to be the CMO for this event and helping this World Cup to be safe and as normal as possible as we emerge from the global pandemic’.

The MT20WC BSAG has agreed on a ‘high trust’ model of health mitigation for the event to protect participants; these protocols will be shared and discussed with all participants boards shortly.