On Monday 19th July, England will move to step four of its roadmap in easing Covid restrictions and as such the ECB has now released updated guidance reflecting changes to outdoor recreational cricket guidance. This means that almost all legal restrictions of social contact will be removed. However, the Government is encouraging people to act with caution.This guidance is updated for the move to Step 4 of the UK Government Road Map which comes into effect on 19 July 2021.

Cricket Matches in Step 4 In England Recreational Cricket COVID Guidance in England Step 4 – July

Whilst the Government are easing COVID restrictions and almost all legal restrictions of social contact will be removed, we urge clubs to be cautious and encourage you to operate in a manner which has the safety of members and guests at the heart of what you do, as you have done throughout the last 16 months.

Whilst the game of Cricket itself remains a safe, socially distanced sport, we are also seeing the impact of Covid-19 and associated isolations in society being reflected within the cricket community. Therefore, with a spike in the number of cases and self-isolations we urge clubs and players to do all they can to continue to mitigate against risk in order to ensure we can keep the recreational game going throughout the remainder of the season. We are seeing a significant number of cricket clubs currently being affected by self-isolations and so without continuing to act really responsibly and with extra levels of caution we could see a really significant impact on the remainder of the season

So, in addition to  ECB documents circulated earlier in the week, and to help clubs understand what they can do to act cautiously, Somerset Cricket Foundation would like to make the following recommendations to the recreational game in our county:

• Sanitiser Breaks and minimising close contact – We recommend that players continue to sanitise their hands every 6 overs and minimise close contact throughout (before, during and after games)
• Changing Rooms and Showers – We recommend that clubs should continue to operate very carefully with regards changing rooms by restricting numbers inside changing rooms at any one time to a maximum of 4 players, and also operating a one in one out policy for showers (* If your changing rooms are small, you may decide 4 is too high a number)
• Face coverings – Whilst no longer required by law, they are recommended in crowded indoor settings. Therefore, for those moving around and queueing in indoor spaces, we advise masks continue to be worn.
• Travel restrictions – where possible, we recommend minimising car sharing i.e. those sharing cars and the number of players in each car should be kept at a minimum
• Free NHS lateral flow testing – These are available to cricket clubs and individuals and so SCF and the ECB encourages clubs to utilise these free tests for their players. You can either visit a local centre to collect free lateral flow tests (find out more here; https://www.gov.uk/find-covid-19-lateral-flow-test-site) or you can order to your home (find out more here; https://www.gov.uk/order-coronavirus-rapid-lateral-flow-tests)

Without participants, we simply cannot play.

Finally, as has applied throughout, you as clubs should not feel under any undue pressure to move to the next steps of the Government’s roadmap and/or ECB’s guidance if you do not feel ready or equipped to do so. Continued good risk assessments and respect between clubs our clubs and their protocols remains really important.