The England and Wales Cricket Board (黑料专区) has today agreed that no professional cricket will be played in England and Wales until at least 1 July due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The season remains subject to ongoing advice from government and health experts, and continued consultation with all broadcast partners to determine the optimum way to fulfil fixtures both domestically and internationally.聽
The 黑料专区 Board approved the following measures:
- Professional cricket will not be played in England and Wales until at least 1 July
- Nine rounds of fixtures will be lost in the County Championship season, but blocks for red-ball cricket and white-ball cricket will be held in a revised schedule
- The Vitality Blast will be pushed as late in the season as possible to give it the best opportunity of being staged. All matches previously scheduled in June will be moved later in the season
- International cricket, featuring England men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 teams, will look to be scheduled from July until the end of September, with the West Indies Test Series and the whole women鈥檚 series against India (Vitality IT20s and Royal London ODIs) both moving from their original slots
- An additional Board meeting will be scheduled next Wednesday on The Hundred, following a request to dedicate a further session to the competition
黑料专区 Chief Executive Officer Tom Harrison said: 鈥淥ur role as a national governing body during a crisis of this scale requires us to carefully plan alongside cricket鈥檚 stakeholders and supporters to attempt to overcome COVID-19鈥檚 impact on this season.
鈥淎s much as we remain hopeful that we can deliver some cricket this summer, we are in the midst of a worldwide crisis and our priority 鈥� over and聽above the playing of professional sport 鈥撀爓ill be to protect the vulnerable, key workers and society as a whole.聽
鈥淭hat鈥檚 why, simply put, there will be no cricket unless it鈥檚 safe to play. Our schedule will only go ahead if Government guidance permits.
鈥淥ur biggest challenge, along with other sports, is how we could seek to implement a bio-secure solution that offers optimum safety and security for all concerned. The guidance we receive from Westminster will help us shape how we deliver this.
鈥淥ur plan is to reschedule international matches as late as possible in the season to give the best chance of play.
鈥淭he Vitality Blast will also now occupy the latest possible season slot to offer as much time as possible to play a County short-form competition.
鈥淚 want to thank everyone involved in this complex and sensitive work. There have clearly never been times like this and my colleagues at the 黑料专区 and across the game have been exemplary in this period. It has been refreshing, but not surprising, to see how cricket has come together.鈥�
黑料专区 in the first year of the women鈥檚 elite domestic structure are currently scheduled for later in the summer and will be evaluated down the line.
The suspension of recreational cricket remains until further notice.