Updated Information for Clubs and Participants 27th March 2020

27th March 2020 | Mallory Gray

Dear Cricket Family

I would first of all like to thank everyone at Cricket Wales and in our volunteer network for the way they have responded to the sad news we brought you last week about the suspension of cricket activities, in light of the very serious Coronavirus outbreak in the UK.

I have been thoroughly uplifted by the innovation and creativity among clubs and individuals who are working hard to keep cricket in people’s minds and on social media timelines, and to keep our collective spirits up while we navigate through this unprecedented interruption to our game and our nation.

In terms of the most up-to-date context, with the passing of Coronavirus Bill through UK parliament, the Government is now, in effect, in control of cricket participation, as it is of any public gathering, whether sports-related or not. The England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) continues to liaise closely with the Department for Culture Media & Sport (DCMS), and we are assured that Government understands and acknowledges the pressure that the restrictions place on the sport sector. While we expect further critical updates from the ECB in the coming days and weeks, in relation to cricket operations, programmes and finance, I thought it would be worth taking you through the prism of priorities through which the ECB is basing its decision-making;

1. Public Safety – the health and wellbeing of everyone involved in Cricket, guided by Public Health authorities

2. Keeping the Cricket network in business - both professional and recreational

3. The long-term health and prosperity of Cricket, once we come out of this period

At Cricket Wales, we are similarly prioritising our work into 3 ‘phases’.

Protect – Our current number one priority; the financial viability and sustainability of our organisation and of the whole recreational game in Wales as well as those who participate in it.

Prepare – Mid-term, ensuring we are ready to respond to the lifting of the suspension - at a date, sadly not yet known - to allow as many people as possible to return to cricket safely, in line with future government policy.

Prevail – Putting steps in place to make our game the best it can be, long-term, taking all the learnings of these challenging times, future-proofing and continuing to grow our reach and relevance, both as an organisation, but also as a sport. To ensure cricket flourishes when we are permitted to resume participation. As part of this critical ‘Protect’ phase, Cricket Wales is committed to bringing its stakeholders as much key relevant information and other resources as we can, in order to support you through this difficult time. We have prepared some consolidated sources of information for this update, but will continually review and filter information we receive from trusted sources and share this with you. If you don’t yet subscribe to Cricket Wales’ bulletins but would like to receive these updates moving forwards, you can register here.

In the meantime, please stay home, stay safe and stay healthy

Leshia Hawkins CEO

Staying connected

We urge you to stay connected with your club’s members if you can. Here’s some great material that is being produced by Glamorgan Cricket, Cricket Wales and others, for back garden or inside activities to keep children and members occupied.

Chance to Shine Cool Catcher: Flat Catching Cricket for Girls: ALL STARS Gardens Games(click on link and scroll to bottom):

And watch this space for a Catching Campaign we hope will get everywhere, to help your members get involved

Groundkeepers

The ECB recently issued guidelines for groundkeepers at this normally important stage of the year for looking after our squares and outfields, click here.

Financial support & other information sources ·

General business advice click here·

Clubs set up as charities click here- ·

Funding·

Rates relief click here·

Volunteering

Mental Health Support

Quite rightly there’s a lot of emphasis on mental health at the moment. Here is some support you can access and distribute: -

For Adults MIND & Control·

For Kids

#StayInWorkOut Join the Movement here

Latest update from ECB