Blackpool CC will take a safety-first approach to cricket's resumption

Does cricket lend itself to social distancing?
Blackpool CC skipper Paul DansonBlackpool CC skipper Paul Danson
Blackpool CC skipper Paul Danson

Those who argue it does can be heard pleading the case for club cricket to be allowed to resume without delay.

However, at Blackpool Cricket Club, they aren’t so sure.

County cricket has been ruled out until August at the earliest, but former England captain Michael Vaughan is among those insisting there is no reason for club cricket to wait for the professional game.

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Vaughan fears a generation of players could be lost if recreational cricket continues to lag behind other summer sports, such as tennis and golf, in returning to action.

Unlike many team sports, cricket can be played with minimal close contact between the players.

But, at Stanley Park, the feeling is that safety issues must still come first.

Chairman David Cresswell told The Gazette: “I hear the arguments about socially-distanced cricket but it’s very difficult when a ball is involved which is passed between players and caught.

“It’s that contact with the ball which is the issue.”

Captain Paul Danson highlighted the same issue.

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He said: “At times cricketers are more socially-distanced than players in any other sport but it’s all about touching the ball. And of course players use saliva to shine the ball.

“And at one end, you potentially have an umpire standing next to a batsman and very close to a bowler at the point of his delivery.”

Cresswell is similarly concerned about umpires and scorers.

“Some of them do fall into vulnerable groups who need to be shielded and looked after,” he added.

“And of course handing items of clothing to an umpire would be a no-no now.

“There still seem to be more barriers than solutions and I wouldn’t be comfortable asking people to turn up.”