19th June 2020
| Mallory Gray
Cricket Wales welcomes today’s announcement by First
Minister Drakeford in respect of the easing of lockdown restrictions, which
positively affects cricketers wishing to undertake socially distanced practice
and non-contact activity on outdoor facilities.
The regulation change, as the First Minister detailed, will
come into effect from next Monday 22nd June 2020.
We should
reiterate, also, that cricket clubs should only open their facilities if and
when they feel they are able to operate safely, ensuring that all travel and
social distancing regulations and hygiene protocols are observed, and where the
facility can be robustly managed and controlled.
Many cricket clubs in Wales will have already seen and
considered the Guidance document issued by the England & Wales Cricket
Board (ECB) for clubs in England last month; Cricket Wales will now work
urgently with ECB to align this guidance, to reflect the detail of the
regulations and the situation as things now stand in Wales and, as soon as this
is approved, it will be communicated to clubs and posted on our social
channels.
While this is clearly positive news for cricket today, we
would remind clubs and participants that this only means, in the short-term, an
opportunity to return to individual practice - or activity undertaken by up to
two households. It is NOT YET the ‘green light’ for a return to team activity
such as squad practice, bilateral or intra-club matches, or any formalised
regional pathway activity.
This said, we will continue to work with colleagues in the
sport sector, Sport Wales and the Welsh Sports Association (WSA) with regards
to the next phase of the return to sporting activity in Wales, alongside Welsh
Government.
Cricket Wales CEO, Leshia Hawkins, said, “I would like to
sincerely thank the clubs and cricketers of Wales for the patience they have
shown, but also their adherence to the regulations during what I know will have
been a frustrating time without cricket. There has been an inordinate amount of
work undertaken behind the scenes in the last couple of months to allow this
easing of regulations with regards to outdoor sports facilities to be approved
by the Welsh Government and I would also like to express my particular
gratitude to colleagues at WSA, Sport Wales & ECB for their support.
“The safety of everyone in the game remains our top priority
and we will issue Welsh-specific guidance to clubs and participants as soon as
we can, and we will turn our attention to securing as much ‘competitive’ team
activity as we are able to this summer, in whatever form that can viably take.
I hope, in the meantime, as many people as possible, especially our young
cricketers, will be able to enjoy some socially-distanced cricket practice and
reignite their love of our beautiful game.”