It has been great to see so much practicing already taking place amongst our Senior as well as Junior members (as a club, we are rapidly approaching 500 net sessions since Lockdown measures were relaxed), and we are pleased to announce that in an effort to raise participation and promote integration across the senior club (including young players aspiring to play Senior Cricket), we are starting to introduce twice a week Senior training sessions, under extremely tight restrictions.
It is crucial that we uphold guidelines laid out by the government and the ECB- we thank members for the manner in which they have respected guidelines to-date, and re-emphasise the importance of continuing to do so. These sessions should in no way be seen as a relaxation of the guidelines the club has laid out (our inventory of Covid-related documentation can be found here:)- that may mean that it feels like we are all being anti-social and not mingling to the extent we would like, but that is unavoidable.
The first session is organised for Thursday 18 June 6-8pm, with subsequent sessions on Sunday 21 June 12-2, and every Thursday and Sunday thereafter- we will be able to practice in the middle within the mobile net as well as using two of our three fixed nets, though note that capacity is constrained for the first session due to existing bookings. The expectation is that due to high demand, nobody will practice for longer than one hour. Fielding practice is not possible.
It is absolutely vital that we know who is going to be attending, in advance. If you turn up without letting us know, we will have no choice but to turn you away. Likewise, it is important that those indicating they intend to turn up, do so.
We are in the process of building a system where people can electronically register their interest, but in the meantime you can let your team captain know if you would like to attend.
A huge thank you needs to be extended to Dave Brooks for the remarkable number of hours he has invested into running the process we have, which has facilitated so much cricket. The talent that has been on display is enormously exciting, and this would not have been possible without Dave. We once again urge senior members to play a small part assisting Dave, by volunteering to 'supervise' on a regular basis, or even offer to coach a group of Colts during the lockdown period. As we all know, the cricket club is a great place to spend an hour or two especially when the weather is so good, so hopefully members are keen to get onboard with this! It will also unlock extra hours during which you yourself are able to practice, as you will become a designated 'supervisor' and not need another one in attendance in order for you to practice.