The International Cricket Council has come under fire for having different rules and regulations for the two semi-finals of the T20 World Cup.
The weather forecast for the second semi-final between India and England to be played in Guyana on Thursday, June 27, from 8pm IST, is not encouraging.
The match to be played at 10.30 am local time could be affected by rain with few spells of heavy showers predicted in the morning and afternoon.
However, strangely for such an important World Cup game there is no provision of a reserve day with the ICC stating that an extra 250 minutes would be available to try and complete the match on the same day.
On the other hand, the first semi-final to be played between South Africa and Afghanistan in Trinidad on June 26 from 8.30 pm local time (June 27 6 am IST) has a reserve day available in case of a rain interruption.
What will also worry defending champions England is the fact that if their semis against India is washed out due to rain they will be eliminated based on how they finished in the Super 8s points table.
India, who finished top of their Super 8s group, will advance if rain washes out the match, as England had finished second in Group 2 behind South Africa.
The playing conditions for the T20 World Cup states that: 'The semi-finals will each have additional time added in order to complete the match which will total 250 minutes. For the first semi-final on 26 June, 60 minutes will be available at the end of the day's play with the remaining 190 minutes scheduled for 2 pm on 27 June.'
'Whilst the additional 250 minutes for the second semi-final scheduled on 27 June will be utilised if needed through extended playing hours on the scheduled day.'
The ICC has coped a lot of flak for their scheduling which has favoured India, who were always scheduled to play in Guyana if they made it to the semis irrespective of where they finished in the Super 8s.
All of India's matches in the T20 World Cup have been played at 10.30 am local time which is 8 pm in India -- prime time for India's viewers.
Former England captains Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain slammed the ICC for the strange ruling.
'The vagaries of the organisation have put pressure on the organising of the tournament, and it's meant that the two semi-finals are played to slightly different rules and regulations,' Atherton told Sky Sports.
'Secondly, India knew all along that they were going to be in Guyana for the semi-final and, therefore could plan for it. Their logistics were already in tow for Indian supporters a chance to get to Georgetown... England fans won't have that chance because it's so late,' Atherton added.
'One team knew that they were going to that semi-final and I don't think it's ideal at all.'
Hussain found it difficult to understand how both the semis could have different rules for weather.
'You can't have two semi-finals with two different playing conditions, where one has a rain day and the other one doesn't.
'The first one is made up over two days effectively or a day-and-a-half. The second one, the England-India game, is made up over that whole day -- it's 250 minutes that they can make up,' Hussain told Sky Sports.
'We could rock up at 8 am in the morning for a 10.30 am start (local) and still be there at 10 pm at night trying to finish off that game! The second semi-final is a 10.30 am start because the players, the teams, the officials have to then fly to Barbados for the Saturday final.
'And it's given to India because of the TV audience in India, the biggest audience for the ICC. Not just India, but Bangladesh, Pakistan and that part of the world.
'My thoughts are that the first part of the tournament seemed to meander along a little bit, with the long gaps... you could have got those games a bit closer together, rather than at the real business end have just one day between a crucial second semi-final and a final.'
