Cricket plans in place for club game
Shropshire cricket league chiefs have drawn up plans for the 2020 season as they await government guidelines.
The Shropshire County Cricket League are waiting on the go-ahead from the government and ECB that the recreational game can take place.
Committee members have written to clubs and received encouraging feedback. Plans are in place for a shortened or split format of the Premier Division while lower leagues could operate on a regional basis.
The county board believe a best-case scenario is Premier Division action beginning at the end of July, but fear time may be running out.
If the go-ahead is received, the 12 top-tier clubs could play each other once in an 11-week season, or the other option in place is a regional split of two groups of six, each playing home and away.
Fixtures would likely contain fewer than the usual 50 overs, with other rule changes possible. There will be no promotion or relegation across the nine divisions.
“We’ve written to all clubs and you can’t force them all,” said SCCL vice-chairman Jamie Dowley. “Some lower-league clubs don’t want to play which is fair enough.
“Some won’t enter all their teams because they have three or four teams.
“The plan is we’re hoping for some form of Premier Division competition and then lower down it’ll be more regional.
“But until we get the go-ahead it’s all in the air, I think time is running out a little bit.
“We need to know pretty soon. But I keep reading there’s an announcement coming soon and then there’s nothing.”
There is a possibility of extending the season into early October to complete matches, while organisers will need to draw up new fixture lists.
