ECB welcomes government’s permission over restarting cricket
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|| Desk Report ||
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) will step up plans to restart the sport behind closed doors after the British government gave the green light to return to action.
The government officials have confirmed that cricket and other sports will be able to resume from next week after the publication of health and safety guidelines, designed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
The ECB will now study the documents to determine how it can help the process of its sport, emerging from the protracted pandemic lockdown.
“We’re extremely heartened by Saturday’s announcement from the Secretary of State, which will support the return of professional, domestic cricket behind closed doors. It’ll provide a meaningful next step for the recreational players to begin playing at their clubs again,” an ECB statement said on Sunday.
“Over the coming week, we will seek to understand the specific guidance from Government’s medical teams so that we can provide support for cricket clubs who will be eager to see their communities safely playing in small groups,” it also said.
The Government’s approval of stage three of the return to elite sport came only two days after the ECB pushed back the start of the domestic season until August 1.
International cricket is pencilled in to return on July 8 after Cricket West Indies (CWI) approved in principle the tour of England.
Plans have been drawn up to create “bio-secure” environments around each Test, which are tentatively scheduled to start on July 8, 16, and 24 and to be held behind closed doors in Southampton and Manchester respectively.
Already England named a mammoth 55-man training group on Friday to prepare for the series, as well as a planned visit from Pakistan and limited-overs games against Australia.
