CRICKET AND COVID: FACING DOWN THE CHALLENGES OF 2020

As part of the Trent Bridge Heritage team's 'Cricket and Covid' dispatches, those involved in the recreational game recall the difficulties, challenges and successes of 2020.

Every cricket season brings its own challenges, changes, and champions – but the summer of 2020 and the Covid outbreak presented issues that were in a different league.

Much of the media’s attention may have been focused on the international game and the two surviving county competitions – the Bob Willis Trophy and the Vitality Blast – but for most club cricketers the focus was primarily on the chances of playing any sort of cricket at all.

The Trent Bridge ‘Cricket & Covid’ volunteer team has spoken to players, officials and administrators across the county to see how the recreational game coped, and to get the lowdown on the lockdown.

For Andy Hunt, chair of the Nottinghamshire Premier League (NPL), the first task was to keep communications with clubs flowing, even when there was not much to say.

“It’s not even like you could meet for a beer to chat, and to console each other,” he said, of those first weeks. “Not knowing when, or if, we’d get going was hard."

Having previously heard the Prime Minister describe the cricket ball as one of the ‘vectors of disease’, club cricketers were, in early July, suddenly faced with the opportunity to resurrect a season that had looked lost.

“Not knowing when, or if, we’d get going was hard.”

Andy Hunt, chair of the Nottinghamshire Premier League

This truncated recreational season would, of course, be subject to new rules and regulations. Cricket and cricketers needed to respond – and to do so very quickly.

“When the reduced window for matches was confirmed we had to move very quickly to get a viable competition organised and running,” said Hunt.

“All the clubs responded positively, and we quickly – very quickly – got a revised format together.”

Hunt’s response was typical of those across the county. The Bassetlaw League was re-formed into a streamlined competition, the NPL delivered its Dan Sutton Trophy, and other leagues around the county worked with determination and a flexible approach to get cricket back onto the parks and grounds of Nottinghamshire.

“Right from the start of lockdown, we resolved that we would get competitive cricket back as soon as possible,” said Neil Fenwick, secretary of the Bassetlaw League. Zoom meetings and regular calls and conversations kept that resolve steady.

“It was frustrating at the beginning,” he admits, “especially when the Government advice was mixed, but we kept talking to all the parties and followed the latest advice.

“The League was in constant contact with the ECB, with the county club at Trent Bridge and with the Notts Premier League to ensure that we not only complied with all the rules, but had a revised competition that worked for all.”

Such was the success of that planning that only one of the teams in the Bassetlaw League opted not to participate in the 2020 season.

Martin Cassidy at Hucknall CC also recognised the commitment he saw from players and supporters; very few members decided not to play, and people soon fitted in with the new rules and playing conditions.

“I would say that most people obeyed most of the rules, most of the time,” he said.

Mandy Wright, Community and Development manager at Trent Bridge, was working throughout the summer, and her main role was to support and co-ordinate the work being done by cricket’s volunteers and supporters in Nottinghamshire. But it wasn’t just getting the game back on that kept her busy.

“We needed to find out about clubs’ financial situation, and how they were communicating with their members because if there was no cricket, there would be no income,” she said.

“We had to help the clubs that were struggling and signpost them to the pots of money that were available. By the end of the summer, emergency funding had provided a lifeline for recreational clubs.

“There is no doubt, though, that cricket could not have returned without that army of unpaid cricket volunteers – players, officials and administrators – who were dedicated to making sure our game was available for as many people as possible.

“What they proved is that cricket can be nimble, flexible and creative. Clubs can and will react very fast.”

Even so, many would, we are sure, agree with Martin Cassidy’s reaction to club cricket in 2020.

“I wouldn’t want to see another season like that!”

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It’s our great pleasure to declare that membership of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club for 2021 is well-and-truly on sale now, with top ticketing priority for our splendid international summer going to those who join our club.