Whilst it remains the case that we must still have the ‘suspended until further notice’ sign hung on our door, the recent announcement by the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), nevertheless feels like a significant step, perhaps even a turning point. Provided people from different households observe social distancing, we can now undertake coaching, training and practice in groups of 6. This is endorsed in the latest Covid-19 statement from the ECB which should have arrived in club mail boxes over the weekend. Safety remains paramount so before planning our sessions, we must await the guidelines and safety protocols which the ECB plan to issue later this week. For now, the two-metre social-distancing imperative remains in place as probably will the requirements for cleaning, sanitisation and supervision. Those of our clubs who have already opened up their playing facilities for 1:1 work will be familiar with all this. But other clubs may now see far greater opportunity for meaningful work with seniors as well as juniors and feel that it is now viable to begin the gradual re-opening. By no means is this a return to the full recreational game that we all want to see. The return was always going to be phased. However, we may come to see that this latest easing of restrictions represents a transition from a ‘Protect’ phase to one in which the emphasis is increasingly on, ‘Prepare to Play’. Last week’s deferral of the start of the professional season until 1st August was a strong challenge to our sense of optimism. This news though picks us back up and encourages a more positive outlook that we will actually get to play and watch some meaningful cricket in our league this summer.
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