ECB COVID-19 UPDATE

Date: 29th May 2020

Cricket Clubs and Leagues

https://ecb-comms.co.uk/1FT6-6W10A-5D1FNAAF0C/cr.aspx

Dear all,

We hope you were able to enjoy the bank holiday weekend. Below is the latest COVID-19 update which includes an update on the recreational game.

Recreational Game update

Last night the government confirmed that groups of six can meet outside from Monday June 1^st, provided people from different households observe social distancing (staying 2m apart). This applies to England, with the First Minister of Wales today announcing that people from two different households in the same local area can meet outside.

While this is good news, it is not an immediate ‘go’ for organised team sports. We are having discussions with Sport England and DCMS about what this means specifically for cricket, to then understand how we can support our clubs to initiate plans to get people back playing cricket.

Yesterday ECB published guidance for the professional domestic season, which will not restart before 1 August.

Recreational cricket will work to a different timeline, but one that again, will be guided by changes to Government advice. We continue to work with DCMS to see its phased return, and it is our hope that we can provide opportunities to play to everyone this summer.

For now, the recreational game remains suspended with no cricket to be played with the sole exception of, in England, the ability to use outdoor cricket facilities (nets and pitches) for the purpose of undertaking exercise. You can access this guidance here.

Like all fans of cricket, we wish to see our players, from every part of the game, safely return to the field as soon as possible. With the brilliant spell of weather, we have enjoyed lately, we too understand the immense frustration an absence of play is causing. Thank you all for your patience, as we, alongside everyone else in society, abide by the timelines we have been given by Government.

Updated Guidelines from the Grounds Management Association

The Grounds Management Association (GMA, formerly the Institute of Groundsmanship), working in partnership with the ECB, have recently updated their advice to those managing cricket grounds during COVID-19 lockdown. These updates are in response to the current weather, where we are in the growing season and recent updates from the ECB on The Use of Outdoor Cricket Facilities During Lockdown.

Key updates include reducing grass cut heights to help with sward density, managing irrigation on squares and avoiding dry rolling, spiking and deep scarification, all of which can cause problems on dry squares.

The advice is aimed at ground staff managing grounds at all clubs, schools and local authorities and is available here.

#Raisethebat - Celebrating our Cricket Heroes

Following the nominations that you have been sharing over the past few weeks, we are delighted to let you know about details of our Raise The Bat campaign which will be going live on Monday.

The campaign is intended to recognise and thank all key workers, but especially those within our cricket community who have laid down their bats to help us get through this difficult time. In honour of their dedication, we are encouraging the whole cricket community to raise their bats in tribute.

We are paying special tribute to a selection of nominees who have been recognised by our England teams. However, we know there are others out there who are doing amazing things and would like to use the campaign as an opportunity to identify more cricket-loving key workers and recognise them through your channels too.

The campaign will launch 10am on 1 June and run through to 8 July, appearing on outdoor media in key cities and across the ECB’s digital and social channels. We will be driving user-generated content across social channels through the use of the hashtag #raisethebat, asking people to recognise key workers they know and raise their bat to them.

From Monday, a selection of assets will be available to download from the ECB Resource Hub, and we will also upload a toolkit which shows the campaign objectives and creative, and provides more detail on how you can support this campaign across your own channels, including some key messaging to help.

Should you have any queries on this, please don’t hesitate to get in touch in the first instance with your County Board.

COVID-19 Support from NatWest

Whilst we’re waiting for cricket to return, if you’re looking for some new inspiration and support for home-schooling to keep young cricket fans and future players entertained, take a look at NatWest MoneySense Programme and MoneySense Monday’s for interactive fun whilst they’re at home.

NatWest MoneySense is a free, fun programme for children aged between 5 and 18 available online, we’ve even included a fun cricket puzzle for 8-12 year olds which you can view and download here, plus take a look at the new Island Saver game which you can also download.

Currently, every Monday morning, we’re live on NatWest Facebook and YouTube channels for an engaging and interactive lesson. NatWest MoneySense Monday’s live focuses on a different topic each week to help introduce finance at home. Take a look at a recent lesson where we had special guest Michael Vaughan and his daughter Jemima taking part in a fundraising task.

For more inspiration and support on home schooling your young cricket fans and future players, check out all the MoneySense sessions on our NatWest YouTube channel here.

Start your coaching journey today

Through iCoach Cricket you can access hundreds of games and practices for at home and the club. As we begin to think about when we might return there’s never been a better time to begin your coaching journey. The platform here provides regularly updated content including drills, training plans, and interviews to inspire and support you on your coaching journey.

Have a look at the latest additions below to provide some inspiration:

Robbo’s garden

One ball one bat

Ladder, pipe, roof, mat, umbrella, coin and chair

ECB LIVE! Interviews with Jane Powell & Ashley Giles

England & Wales Cricket Board, Lord's Cricket Ground, London, NW8 8QZ