ECB suspends all professional cricket in England till May 28
The England Cricket Board (ECB) has suspended all professional cricket in England till May 28 as the government steps up its actions in taking drastic measures to curb the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. International commitments, The Hundred and T20 Blast are set to top the board’s priority list.
Amid widespread COVID-19 outbreaks around the globe, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has decided to suspend all professional cricket in the region till May 28. The decision to delay the season, which was earlier slated to start on April 12, comes after England Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, closed bars, cafes, restaurants and gyms in the country.
ECB CEO, Tom Harrison, shared that the governing is continuously assessing the evolving pandemic and is working to sketch out a revised season at the earliest. He further informed that the governing body will be looking to prioritise its financially important commitments, both international and domestic.
"The decision to delay the start of the season has been essential, given the circumstances the nation faces. With the information available to us at the moment a delay to the start of the professional cricket season until May 28 was unavoidable,” Harrison was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
"This also allows us time to keep pace with a fast-moving situation and continue to plan for how a revised season might look. Critically, we can also remain as flexible and adaptable as possible, within the obvious restrictions we face. Securing the future of the game will be a primary focus as we plot a revised schedule with an emphasis on the most financially important forms of the game for the counties across international and domestic cricket.''
International commitments along with The Hundred and T20 Blast will top ECB’s priority list while county cricket is slated to suffer the worst. This summer will be crucial for the futures of the 18 first-class counties, some of whom are in precarious financial positions, given the UK government's assessment that the peak of the pandemic will only occur in this country in June.
While a mid-July or August start is the most likely option, it will ensure a curtailed or, in the worst of scenarios, a canceled season of County cricket. The board will eagerly look forward to the government's green light to go ahead with closed door games when the situation betters.