West of England Cricket Leagues Statement

Statement on behalf of:

Courage West of England Premier League

Bristol and District Cricket League supported by Martin Berrill Sports

Gloucestershire County Cricket League sponsored by Greene King IPA

Monmouth Scientific Somerset Cricket League

Wiltshire Cricket League sponsored by Neon Cricket

The playing of recreational cricket in England and Wales is currently suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The latest information from the ECB on using nets and outdoor spaces can be found here.

The five leagues involved in the West of England cricket pyramid held a video meeting recently to discuss plans for the 2020 season. All five leagues are in agreement on the following points:

  1. The health and wellbeing of our communities is far more important than games of cricket and this will be the guiding principle throughout any decisions made regarding the 2020 season.
  2. Recreational cricket will not be able to resume until the government and the ECB have given the approval for it to do so.
  3. All leagues are focussed on providing their clubs with the opportunity to play meaningful and competitive cricket matches if and when the opportunity arises to do so. Leagues are prepared to be creative to make best use of any windows of opportunity available to play the game noting that there will be restrictions such as ground availability and ground sharing issues to be considered.
  4. There is acknowledgement that fair notice will need to be given to clubs as to when a resumption of cricket will occur.
  5. No penalties will be incurred by clubs who are unable to use their facilities due to no fault of their own or for clubs unable to field teams due to ongoing Covid-19 concerns.

In addition to the above agreed principles the Courage West of England Premier League, the Bristol & District Cricket League, the Gloucestershire County Cricket League and the Monmouth Scientific Somerset Cricket League have decided that there will be no promotion or relegation within, in to, or out of their leagues based on any fixtures played in 2020.

There is plenty of information and support for cricket clubs that can be found at the Covid-19 section of ur website.

All five leagues urge clubs, players and volunteers to continue to adhere to all government guidelines at all times. This is the only way that we will be able to get back to playing the game we all love at the earliest opportunity that it is safe to do so.

Wiltshire County Cricket League Additional Statement

As can be seen from the above, the Neon Cricket Wiltshire County Cricket League has decided against making a decision on whether there will be internal promotion and relegation should this season commence. The Chairman’s view is that the final decision can be made by the League’s Management Committee once a decision is reached regarding recreational cricket in 2020.