Hi all

Still no good news to report I'm afraid. Only not so good.

Today, Boris said on LBC Radio that cricket still shouldn't restart because of "concerns over pavilions and teas". This is after last weeks comment of the ball being "a vector for disease". This is a family club so I shall hold back my true feeling on those statements!

The ECB had already agreed (weeks ago) with the Department of Culture, Media & Sport, a way forward without us using the pavilion and with no teas. They are exasperated as much as we are. I've added below a letter just received from the ECB. It's polite, as you'd expect, but I believe there to be real anger there as they, quite frankly, have been left with egg on their faces.

There's never been a better time to canvas your MP. Please email you dismay, whilst you sit in the pub tomorrow, of have your hair cut, or are playing tennis or basketball with your mates, to:

 Robert Halfon Harlow

 Priti Patel Witham

Julie Marson – Stortford

Alex Burghart – Brentwood & Ongar

Kemi Badenoch – Saffron Walden

You may like to use the template below. We have to do all we can to make them see sense.

Dear RH xxxxxxx MP

We write to represent the views of ????? Cricket Club with regard to the current cricket season for recreational club cricket. 

As a club we have worked hard on implementing protocols for training and participation over the last few weeks. We have both adults and juniors coming to our club for individual coaching or for training in groups of five. 

Although we understand the advice about the cricket ball, we believe that this can be mitigated to a large extent by regularly sanitising the ball. We believe cricket is currently a far safer environment for healthy recreation than certain other sports, such as basketball, because of the distance between players on the field. Further, it is clearly far safer than social interactions in a pub or restaurant, even with social distancing measures in place. 

Our playing members are very keen to get started and we would urge you to pass this on to the Prime Minister’s advisers in hope that the 2020 recreational season can be salvaged as soon as possible. 

Yours sincerely, 

Hello all,

In light of the Prime Minister’s comments today in response to questions regarding the return of cricket, I wanted to write to you all to share our desire and commitment to see the safe return of recreational cricket. 

As cricket is a non-contact sport, with very low risks of exposure, we believe recreational cricket can be played safely. To support this, we shared a detailed submission with the Department For Digital, Culture, Media and Sport which included advice on how we can stage cricket activity safely and mitigate potential risks. We believe this advice, supported with strict hygiene measures - means recreational cricket should be viewed as safe by the UK Government, which, as I am sure you agree, would be welcome news to our nation’s recreational cricketers.

I fully appreciate that there are many people within the cricketing family who are desperate to return to the game we all love. We share that feeling. I ask that you continue to work closely with your clubs and leagues to prepare for the season and I thank you for your ongoing hard work and patience through this difficult time.

 Regards,

Nick