Cricket suffers Covid-19 knock-out - Devon League may not happen in 2020

The Tolchards Devon Cricket League has announced that the 2020 season will not commence on May 2 and indeed, we may not see any league cricket this year in light of the on-going Covvid-19 crisis.

Tolchards Devon League secretary Edward Leverton has sent a communication to all Devon League member clubs:

‘Earlier this afternoon the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) issued a statement on the Coronavirus and the 2020 Cricket Season. With sadness, but in the light of the body of medical evidence, the ECB have suspended all recreational cricket and cricket related activities.

The Tolchards Devon Cricket League and the Devon Women’s Cricket League understand both the disappointment and potential hardship that this will cause our member clubs. However, the current spread of the virus is unprecedented, and we firmly endorse the action taken by our National Governing Body. Consequently, there will be no League cricket in the foreseeable future or until such time as HM Government advises that it is safe for recreational sport to resume.

We will ensure contact with our member clubs over the coming weeks and months so that everyone is aware of the current situation. Given HM Government advice around the ‘at risk’ groups and the need for social distancing we’d encourage clubs to think differently about how they communicate internally and explore the opportunities around ‘virtual’ meetings.

There are some things in this life that are more important than cricket. The health and wellbeing of all our club volunteers, officials and players is of the utmost value to us.

More information will become available over the next few days and we will communicate this to you. Working in partnership with both the ECB and the Devon Cricket Board we will do our best to find ways to support our member clubs during this extremely difficult time.’