The start of the English domestic cricket season has been delayed by another month due to COVID-19 pandemic, with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirming that no non-international fixture will be played in the summer till at least August 1.
The domestic season was scheduled to begin via the initial rounds of the County Championship in April. But the ECB was forced to announce that no professional cricket will be played in England and Wales until July 1 at the earliest.
That suspension window has now been extended at the domestic level, although there is still a chance that England can host West Indies for Test matches in July, given that ECB's announcement on Thursday (May 28) didn't cover international games.
Read Also: “Bio-secure venues at the level of ECB’s thinking a bit unrealistic,” says Rahul Dravid
"But the ambition remains to host domestic men's and women's cricket across England and Wales later this summer," says the ECB media release. "The Professional Game Group (PGG) will look to outline a number of opportunities for domestic play, which will be presented to the ECB Board in June."
"These plans include a number of options for both red-ball and white-ball cricket including matches played at all First Class Grounds, the use of a regional group model as well as consideration for matches played behind closed doors or with a limited number of supporters while strictly adhering to Government guidance on social distancing."
"The working group is also exploring options where non-televised games can be live-streamed for members and supporters."
The recreational game has also been affected badly by this phase. The ECB is hoping to have some progress on discussions with the UK government on a possible earlier return of lower-level cricket
In the professional game, it is the Royal London One-day Cup (List A) that is reportedly most vulnerable of being abandoned, with plans in place for a regionally spread shortened county first-class season and Vitality T20 Blast to go ahead in the curtailed summer.
“Naturally we want to see cricket being played at every level. We remain hopeful of seeing both domestic and recreational cricket this season and planning with the PGG has allowed us to map a number of potential scenarios for domestic play," said ECB CEO Tom Harrison.
"While traditional formats of our competitions are the preference, we are not against exploring the unorthodox to ensure that we can return our players to the field," he added. "That can only happen though when it is safe, and we have said throughout this crisis that the safety and well-being of everyone involved in the game is our key priority."
“We have learned a lot and continue to learn about the safety protocols that would need to be in place to stage international cricket behind closed doors in this environment and those protocols will also need to apply to the domestic game."
“Across the recreational game, it has been heart-warming to hear of clubs where players have returned to the nets. As children start returning to school in the coming weeks, we look forward to exploring how those guidelines and learnings can be deployed for cricket. This can then see the recreational game continue its phased return as soon as we have Government approval."
