The ECB Southern Premier League is planning to launch a two-part 40-over red ball regionalized League Cup competition next month – if the Government does a U-turn on its lockdown policy and gives the green light for recreational cricket to resume.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is coming under increasing pressure to back down after his astonishing announcement in Parliament on June 23 when he declared a cricket ball a ‘natural vector for disease’ and insisted the game had to stay under lockdown.
In the hope that the decision is reversed some time soon, the SPL has asked its 35 clubs whether they would be interested in playing competitive Saturday afternoon cricket, provisionally starting on July 18, thereby allowing clubs two weeks to prepare their grounds, some of which have been neglected during two months of inactivity.
Plans are to play Covid-secure 40-over 11-a-side matches on a regionalised league structure to reduce the need to travel, using only a home scorer and applying the existing points system.
The SPL plans to set up two leagues, combining the Premier Division and Division 1, and a separate competition for teams in Divisions 2 and 3.
Clubs have until Wednesday (July 1) to let the Southern Premier League know if they are interested in participating in the League Cup.
But if there’s no change in government policy fairly soon, then the prospects of any recreational cricket this summer are slim indeed.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is coming under increasing pressure to back down after his astonishing announcement in Parliament on June 23 when he declared a cricket ball a ‘natural vector for disease’ and insisted the game had to stay under lockdown.
In the hope that the decision is reversed some time soon, the SPL has asked its 35 clubs whether they would be interested in playing competitive Saturday afternoon cricket, provisionally starting on July 18, thereby allowing clubs two weeks to prepare their grounds, some of which have been neglected during two months of inactivity.
Plans are to play Covid-secure 40-over 11-a-side matches on a regionalised league structure to reduce the need to travel, using only a home scorer and applying the existing points system.
The SPL plans to set up two leagues, combining the Premier Division and Division 1, and a separate competition for teams in Divisions 2 and 3.
Clubs have until Wednesday (July 1) to let the Southern Premier League know if they are interested in participating in the League Cup.
But if there’s no change in government policy fairly soon, then the prospects of any recreational cricket this summer are slim indeed.