I trust you’re all continuing to keep safe and well. Normally we’d be well on our way towards half of the season’s games being completed by now but as we all know that’s not the case this year.
At Durham Cricket Board we remain in constant touch with ECB especially in relation to when we can give the signal to clubs about getting the game on. Yesterday we were involved in one of the regular conference calls hosted by ECB about this. Progress is being made but the headline from the call was that there is no material change to the government’s position from last week when ECB issued their 5 stage roadmap to return.
Nevertheless ECB is strongly lobbying the government to consider cricket as a special case in that we are a socially distant team sport on the field, and are uniquely placed among team sports in that regard. Even so, for the game to resume, the government will be required to change their guidance on group numbers, and it would also be beneficial if the social distance of 2 metres became 1 metre. The government have announced this week that they are considering changes to their guidelines.
ECB are also preparing some options about an adjusted form of the game, in the event that some cricket is possible but not quite the ‘normal’ form of the game initially during July.
Therefore the guidance of Durham Cricket Board to clubs in anticipation of changes being made soon to the current measures on household groups and social distancing, is for clubs to move to as close to a state of readiness for action as possible. We know that clubs will be in different stages of readiness with circumstances relating to each club being different, but some of those preparations would typically be;
- being open for practice in line with ECB guidelines for groups of 6 households (5 plus 1 coach if appropriate)
- make contact with all your players, junior and senior to confirm their participation
- ground staff preparing their squares by cutting to a normal summer height
- and staying close to Durham Cricket Board and ECB communications.
If the government change their guidelines, there will be communication from Durham Cricket Board and ECB, but, to be clear, it will be after some consideration of what the changes mean.
So, getting to a state of being ‘ready to go’, anticipating, but not guaranteeing a start in July would be a sensible move. If any club is having difficulty in getting their ground ready for any reason, then please contact Graeme (graeme.weeks@durhamcricket.co.uk) who is keen to hear from you and try to help move things forward.
Here’s hoping we are getting closer to a point at which games can be held at our grounds soon.
Bob Jackson
Chairman
Durham Cricket Board