Alex Diver
Please find attached some additional notes with regards to matchday.
These are over and above the ECB regulations and specifically apply to Palace Shield games.
Please ensure you complete risk assessments and also let your visitors know any specifics for their arrival especially - e.g. where to park.
There is an inter-league meeting on Monday so, hopefully, there will be some clarity by then and we can hopefully give another update during the week.
This document should be read in conjunction with the latest guidance from the ECB / LCF / ACO.
1. Scorers
As part of their matchday risk assessment, clubs must consider the facilities for the scorers. If the home club is unable to provide a sheltered, COVID-safe position for the visitor’s scorer to be seated near to the home scorer, this should be covered in the risk assessment and that message conveyed to the visiting side prior to the game. If that is the case, the home club must ensure that their scorer is capable of managing the scorebook and scorebox alone or with the help of others from their own household. The visiting side may still wish to provide a scorer but they will have to operate under the constraints identified by the home side. The provision of a scorer is not mandatory for the visitors in this case but, if they do not provide a scorer, they must provide someone to stay in the vicinity of the home scorer so that they can relate details such as player’s names etc to the home scorer. This person can be changed during the game but, if no-one is provided or there is only someone available for part of the game, this will be considered as failing to provide a scorer and meet with potential penalties.
Just to remind everyone, the penalty for failing to provide a scorer is a one point deduction for each game that this happens but the penalty only comes in on the fourth occasion. So, there is no penalty for up to 3 cases of failing to provide a scorer but the 4th time would result in a 4 point penalty.
2. Umpires
Team Cards (ECB version now introduced) both sides should be completed and handed to the umpire prior to the toss together with an envelope containing their £45 expenses. Umpires may ask you to enable them to photograph or copy the details from the Team Cards rather than take possession.
3. Ball Cleaning
Captains are reminded they must use a microbial cloth to clean the ball. These cloths are now readily available at all supermarkets. They MUST NOT use hand sanitiser.
Latest LCF Update
Good morning everyone,
Ahead of the move to Step 2 of the Government Roadmap on April 12th, ECB have updated their playing guidance for recreational cricket. This guidance can be found in the weekly bulletin for clubs and leagues (to be published this morning). https://ecb-comms.co.uk/t/1FT6-7BL2U-49E79B69D324B7DF7DM4VQ6E4473FE8F9D770E/cr.aspx
What has changed under Step 2 (12th April)?
The activities permissible through organised outdoor cricket activity remain the same and therefore existing playing guidance should be followed.
The main changes for cricket relate to outdoor hospitality, which is now permissible subject to following government guidance.
Whilst spectators are still not permissible, ECB have updated their FAQ’s to explain the exemptions for parents, guests/patrons using your venue for hospitality purposes and what this means if your ground is located within a public open space.
Please ensure you read the FAQ’s and full guidance carefully and communicate appropriately to your clubs so they can update any risk assessments as appropriate.
It should be noted that the ‘no spectator’ rule has been set by government(DCMS) for all recreational sport, and a further review is due ahead of Step 3 of the roadmap on May 17th.
Clubs should continue to monitor the ECB Covid-19 webpage for further information.
Thanks
James Cutt | Leagues & Teams Manager
Please find the Cup Draws in full.
Preliminary Round to take place Sunday 9th May
First Round to take place Sunday 6th June
The Serbian Cricket Federation is looking at recruiting players of Serbian/Yugoslavian descent, aged between 16-30, who would be keen to represent them in future tournaments, including the ICC World Cup Qualifiers this summer.
In order to be eligible, players must have either a parent or a grandparent born in Serbia or Yugoslavia.
ECB is delighted to confirm the return of cricket in England on 29 March
Following the Government’s updated guidance for outdoor organised sports around the easing of social restrictions in England on 29 March, we are delighted to confirm the return of recreational cricket in England from that date. We know that our communities, players and volunteers will have missed the social, physical and health benefits of participating in our great game and we believe we have an important role to play in supporting the nations recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Importantly, we also know that we have a collective responsibility to ensure the safety of our communities by ensuring compliance with the latest Government guidance.
For England, we have produced an updated roadmap and accompanying documents (below) to provide you with the headline information on what activities are permissible from 29 March onwards.
For Wales, we will continue to work closely with Sport Wales and Cricket Wales to provide the accompanying guidance.
With the season approaching you can still attend a FREE Online Umpires and Scoring Course
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It's Your Call Umpire Education Stage One Online - 2020/21 Season
In February, the Palace Shield Exec issued a statement on the position regarding the coming season. Some feedback was received from clubs and the position was reviewed at the Exec Meeting on Wed 10th March.
The start of the season is planned for Saturday 17th April. No further information has come to light from the government or cricket authorities since the initial roadmap was announced. Schools reopened on 8th March and the next target date in the roadmap is 29th March for the return of outdoor sport. A further extension of the regulations is expected on 12th April. Which of these dates will allow the return of full scale practise sessions and matches is unknown at this point although clarification is expected shortly.
We also know from the roadmap that most indoor facilities will need to remain closed until at least 17th May. So, it looks like games in the early part of the season will require similar set ups to last season with no changing rooms, only one scorer in the scorebox, possibly sanitising breaks etc. with the additional proviso that no-one is going to be able to shelter in clubhouses in adverse weather. The roadmap did suggest a return to normality in late June.
The feedback from clubs from the February statement suggested that most wanted to play a full season if possible and to keep the same set of rules throughout the season. Some were willing to use Sundays to complete the fixtures whilst others were not. There were also concerns about the weather, particularly in the early season, any further unknown restrictions on travel or variations by area and the fact that some of these dates may change in future.
The exec considered all these issues before coming to the conclusion that we should start on Saturday 17th April as planned unless there was a major change in the regulations or dates from the government or the ECB. They also felt all games should take place under normal Palace Shield rules with a 1.30pm start. Players will be required to provide their own tea / refreshments for the foreseeable future so we would revert to a 20 minute tea interval. Whenever the relaxation of further restrictions come in, it was felt that many clubs would find it difficult to provide teas in a safe environment throughout the season so we would retain this position on teas until further notice. We also expect further guidelines to be issued by the ECB in advance of the season so we would adapt our playing conditions accordingly once known.
In the early part of 2021, three teams have withdrawn from the competition. In normal circumstances, these would each face a £100 fine. Given the exceptional circumstances of the past 12 months, with some teams and players not playing in 2020, no indoor practise this winter and little chance for clubs to regroup, it was proposed to waive these fines. Furthermore, in case other clubs are in the same position, we would also waive this fine for any other team withdrawing providing the withdrawal was confirmed by Saturday 20th March. This way, we can make any required adjustments to divisions and / or fixtures well before the start of the season.
As usual, we welcome feedback on the issues mentioned in this statement and they will be further discussed at the Management Meeting on Wednesday 24th March by which time we will, hopefully, have a clearer picture of the way forward.
Palace Shield Executive Committee 10th March 2021
https://ecb-comms.co.uk/1FT6-79TOW-ACCCFB6FBC06AB8CAXJ9FD3836157D26424A68/cr.aspx
We have been pleased with the recent Government announcements highlighting a return to cricket in England from the 29th March. We continue to work closely with DCMS and UK Government to ensure cricket plays it’s part in ensuring the safe opening up of society and that we continue to be highly respected thanks to the efforts of club volunteers up and down the country. As we finalise our guidance which will be shared with you all shortly we understand that some of you have asked questions on what activity is permissible at the moment.
Q. Can I deliver 1:1 coaching sessions?
A. Not at this time. Sports venues (including cricket facilities) must remain closed as instructed by the government until at least 29/3/21 (subject to review) and you may currently only exercise in a public outdoor space with one other person. ECB is clear that the definition of exercise in a public space is not intended to include cricket activity.
Q. Can I meet with other club committee members to get the ground ready for the start of the season?
A. Not at this time. ‘Stay at Home where possible’ is still in force, so grounds maintenance should be limited to essential preparation tasks with essential staff only. Large working parties are not appropriate at this stage. Clubs should risk assess any lifting or lone working that would be an health and safety risk, and delay that until Step 1b (29/3/21) when the Rule of Six will apply and ‘Stay at Home’ will be replaced with ‘Stay Local’, then sub-grouped (max 6) working parties would be more appropriate.
Q. What does this mean for Cricket in Wales?
A. We continue to work closely with Sport Wales to ensure cricket can return as soon as possible.
Thank you for your understanding in keeping people safe this summer
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Government Update |
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The ECB welcomes the Government’s decision to permit outdoor grassroots cricket to return in time for the start of the 2021 season from 29th March. Cricket plays an important role in many people’s lives and helps to maintain positive mental and physical wellbeing. We are working with Sport England and the Government on each step of the Government’s Roadmap. We will issue further guidance shortly on what each step of the roadmap means for the game to support players, teams, clubs, coaches and umpires to prepare in time for 29th March.
We continue to work with Sport Wales and the Welsh Government on the safe return of recreational cricket as soon as possible in Wales.
To access the full statement, please click here. |
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The Hundred Rising |
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The Hundred Rising – a brand new programme of 100 exciting opportunities offering up-and-coming talent a platform to showcase their skills and gain valuable experience working or volunteering at The Hundred competition this summer.
Committed to providing CV-enhancing opportunities to help people get ahead despite the challenges of the last year, The Hundred Rising will offer 100 chances to get involved in bringing The Hundred to life.
The Hundred Rising is launching with 32 paid positions on offer to be a Rising Host, Rising Reporter or Rising Content Creator at this summer’s competition.
More roles will be announced in the lead up to the competition and with seven host cities: Birmingham, Leeds, London, Nottingham, Manchester, Southampton and Cardiff. |
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DBS Applications - Start your application now |
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We know many clubs are looking forward to the return of cricket, so to help make sure that you are ready and prepared we just wanted to encourage everyone to double check that you have a valid DBS. If required please make an application as soon as possible in preparation for the new season and to avoid delays when cricket activities resume.
As a result of the Government’s current national lockdown restrictions and advice from the Disclosure and Barring Service, the ECB are continuing with Online ID verifications until further notice. This includes the initiation and verification of DBS applications. |
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EWCT Loans |
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EWCT’s Trustees have approved an extension of the suspension of quarterly loan repayments for both the Interest Free Loan Scheme and the Emergency Loan Scheme until November 2021. If you have an EWCT loan, a communication will be sent to your Club or League shortly. Please do not cancel any Direct Debit payments. |
The roadmap for the moves away from lockdown appear to pave the way for
the return to cricket and a full season. Exactly how this will pan out
is still uncertain and we are waiting for an update from the ECB
following negoiations with the government. The dates given were a "not
before" date and, if any one date slips, then the subsequent ones will
also slip. The dates given were
Mon 29th March outdoors sports allowed. This would appear to include
some sort of cricket but possibly groups of 6. Confirmation of this will
be given on Mon 24th March
Mon 12th April possible return for adult team sports. This looks
like the start date for organised cricket matches but the decision is
not until Mon 5th April and will also depend on the previous date not
moving. Will probably involve everyone remaining outdoors throughout.
Mon 17th May possible date with people allowed inside whether
spectators or players. Unclear at this point regarding changing rooms.
Decision due on Mon 10th May but will depend on the above dates being met.
Mon 21st June possible date for removal of restrictions. The
decision will be due on Mon 14th June and depend on the dates above
being met. This is nearly half way through the planned season.
All the information above is in the public domain but, hopefully, the
ECB will give an update soon on the position regarding cricket.
In the meantime, thanks for those who gave feedback to the notes a few
weeks ago - further feedback is still welcome. The exec will be meeting
on Wed 10th March when we hope to be in a better position to inform. IN
the meantime, please note the following changes:
Whittle-le-Woods have been reduced to one team. They have stated that
the majority of players leaving will be those who were in the first
team so they have requested that they drop the team in Div 1A and keep
the team in Div 5.
Great Eccleston III have resigned from DIv 4.
This would leave 11 teams in Div 1A, Div 4, Div 5 and Div 6 so it would
appear to spread the missed games and also allows us to continue without
a rewrite of the fixtures which would result if we had to move teams up
to fill gaps and would also leave larger gaps lower down. However, it
is imperative that we are told about anyone else who may also have to
withdraw a side before or early in the season. If we have this
information before next Wednesday, it would be helpful.
On ground issues, St Annes III will be playing at AKE School for the
coming season (King Edwards in Lytham as I would know it). Penwortham IV
will be groundsharing at Bretherton which has resulted in a few fixtures
changes in Div 6 and one in Div 5 but all teams are aware. Ingol will
be playing their home games at Freckleton.
As soon as we have any further information, we wil let you know.
Following the recent post on the PS Website, John Butler from Morecambe CC has been in touch helping with our club research and has traced the career of B.F. Morgan. John has written an excellent article on Morgan which we will use in the programme and is here to share on the Palace Shield website. If you could post this follow-up (see below) – that would be great.
Further to our recent request for help in researching the club’s history in this our centenary year, the club would like to thank John Butler, Morecambe CC for his research on Dick Kerr’s and in particular about B.F. Morgan who took 111 wickets at an average of 4.9 in 1929, which remains a league record today. John has written an excellent article on B.F. Morgan’s career and we are delighted to share this with you on the Palace Shield website.
https://cricketfromthenorth.blogspot.com/2021/02/bf-morgan-record-never-to-be-broken.html
Carl Hayes
