Alex Holowczak

For those of you who missed the Prime Minister’s press conference earlier this evening, I am delighted to inform you that the UK Government has given the green light for recreational cricket in England to return from Saturday July 11. The latest update from the UK Government signals progression from step 3 to step 4 of ECB’s roadmap to return for the recreational game, meaning competitive cricket matches in England with adjustments to respect hygiene and social distancing will be permitted.

ECB has maintained a constant dialogue with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) throughout this process and the UK Government have stated that COVID-secure guidance will be published in the coming days.

Guidelines are already prepared for the return of recreational cricket and following the Prime Minister’s comments, will now be finalised and shared early next week including specific guidance for umpires and scorers.

Martin Gentle
Interim Head of ACO & Membership Service Manager

We are delighted that the UK Government have given their permission for recreational cricket to return from next weekend. We will shortly be publishing our approved guidelines to help clubs and players prepare for cricket's return.

— England and Wales Cricket Board (@ECB_cricket) July 3, 2020

We have received the below update:

Following continued work with the Department of Digital, Culture, Music and Sport, the ECB are waiting for government approval before we can provide any further update on the return of recreational cricket. We remain optimistic of cricket being the first team sport to return to play, and anticipate more news shortly. We are continuing to work hard behind the scenes to make this happen and will keep you informed as things progress.

In the event of a return, the ECB will be producing guidelines on what a “return to cricket” looks like and that will include top line guidance for officials. It is anticipated that following the release of those guidelines, the ACO will work with the leagues and publish more detailed guidelines specifically for umpires and scorers. These will be distributed via an Over and Out email to all ACO members and via the leagues to their clubs. A definitive statement regarding insurance will also be published at the same time. 

Martin Gentle
Interim Head of ACO & Membership Service Manager (ECBACO)

The ECB has provided an update about the proposed restart of the 2020 Domestic season. Please note that this only applies to first-class cricket, and not the recreational game.

You can read the update by clicking here.