ECB: No cricket before 1 July – The Hundred’s fate to be decided next week

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) 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.

The ECB 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’s and women’s teams, will look to be scheduled from July until the end of September, with the West Indies Test Series and the whole women’s 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

ECB Chief Executive Officer Tom Harrison said: “Our role as a national governing body during a crisis of this scale requires us to carefully plan alongside cricket’s stakeholders and supporters to attempt to overcome COVID-19’s impact on this season.

“Our plan is to reschedule international matches as late as possible in the season to give the best chance of play.

“The 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.

Fixtures in the first year of the women’s 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.

John Stephenson

john@cricketinvestor.co.uk