Update to ECB's Outdoor Recreational Cricket Guidance

Since last week’s release of the ECB’s full guidance for Return to Play, Wiltshire Cricket has received several queries and so we thought it might be useful to summarise a few key queries/issues that have been raised. Additionally, the ECB have today updated their FAQs and these contain some important additions to the initially publicised FAQs. For all appropriate updates, see below:


Updated Covid-19 FAQs

Please find attached a copy of ECB’s updated Covid-19 FAQs. The key changes from the FAQs that were released last week are as follows:

Spectators – Currently under step 1b of the Government’s roadmap (effective from 29th March 2021) spectators are not allowed at any organised indoor or outdoor cricket. However, in the past week there have been several queries around the safeguarding permissions attached to this rule. The ECB Have therefore added the following statement to their FAQs:

No child attending an organised activity should be made to feel unduly anxious because their parent/carer is not close by. This is a safeguarding issue and so a single suitable adult can be in attendance for a child’s activities if required. The adult should stay for as short a time as possible and remain socially distanced from other adults at all times.

Car Sharing – The initial ECB FAQs contained no guidance on car sharing. However, this has been updated and the new FAQs read as follows on this area:

Is car sharing permitted for sport and physical activity? No. Car sharing is not permitted with someone from outside your household or your support bubble unless your journey is undertaken for an exempt reason. Sport and physical activity are not exempt reasons, so you cannot car share for sport and physical activity.

Nets – There have been several queries around opening of nets, and whether there are any restrictions on the numbers of nets that can be used at one time. To provide more clarity in this area, the FAQs have been updated to read as follows:

All activity providers should carry out a risk assessment for the use of practice nets. This assessment will inform what mitigations need to be put in place to reduce the risk of transmission of the virus, as well as the other risk factors associated with net practice.

Activity providers should consider all the detailed requirements of opening the whole facility as well as the factors specific to the use of nets e.g., the safe capacity of the net facility, managing players, coaches etc in and out of the nets and on and off the site. Providers should also consider the requirements of sanitising any relevant equipment between net sessions.

An organised net session does not have a limit on numbers, in line with wider playing guidance. The risk assessment should also consider the safety of the players involved in any informal sessions, which would be limited to the ‘rule of 6 or 2 households’(see Government guidance for further details)

During organised net sessions, the contact details of all participants should be recorded either via a register or NHS QR code.

In most cases every net can be used subject to maintenance and regular Health and Safety checks and an assessment to ensure social distancing can be maintained in the net facility and limit the number of participants accordingly.


Risk Assessment Templates

Completing risk assessments as facilities and coaching / matchplay providers is going to be a hugely important theme for us all as we go through this season. As part of the guidance, the ECB have produced template risk assessment documents and pre-activity checklists. These are stored through the ECB resource hub and so for those who can’t access the hub these are attached below:

Recreational Cricket Covid-19 Risk Assessment Template in England

Action Checklist for Clubs in England


Finally, all at Wiltshire Cricket would like to thank everyone in the network for the work that you are all doing to get cricket ready for this coming season