“Following the Government’s latest advice around social distancing, it is with sadness and reluctance that we recommend that all forms of recreational cricket are for now suspended.

This extends to training, pre-season friendlies and any associated cricket activity.”

Cricket, and Watlington Cricket Club is obviously very important to us, but it is at times like these that things are put into perspective. What really matters to us is the health and wellbeing of our young and old players, family members, volunteers and supporters.

Like everyone, we don’t have a crystal ball, so we cannot answer the obvious questions we all have at the moment. We are of course closely following guidance and advice and working closely with the Leagues, County Cricket Board and Parish Council, following their lead, but not afraid to go further to protect our greatest assets, our people.

We cancelled all training last week and two fund raising events for April and have been conducting emergency committee meetings via video conference, discussing information available and ideas to formulate plans for every scenario.

What we can say now, is that we will do what we feel is best for the health and wellbeing of everyone involved and fulfil our commitment to providing fun, safe and enjoyable cricket wherever possible.

On top of this, we are looking at ways to keep our junior and senior players fully engaged with the club and the sport. We will be releasing activities for kids and their families when schools shut down, which can be done in the safety of your homes. We have ideas for activities for all levels of restrictions and we are busy putting these together so they will be ready in time, but we all realise that this situation is not likely to go away soon.

This will be a tough time for cricket, it is not a sport which is easily visible to most folk, if we do see a whole year where people are not enjoying the game, we are at a very real danger of losing them from the sport forever. Obviously there are greater risks than this too, so whatever decisions we make and actions we take now, will be trying to ensure that this is not the case.

Many clubs will pay a very high price for this inactivity, through financial losses, but also by losing players and possibly officials and volunteers. We are determined to make sure the club comes out the other side of this situation in the best way we can. We will come through this and we as a club and community will be stronger for it.

But we cannot do this without your help.

Yes, we will struggle financially, but we have already put in measures to ensure we will be fine for this year and longer if necessary. At the current point in time we will not be asking for membership subscriptions as we cannot guarantee there will be any activity at all this summer. What we will provide in the way of home activities and ad hoc activities will not be charged for, we also ask that you share these outside of our immediate cricket community for the benefit of all.

We will of course welcome any donations from those who feel they want to, but we ask that you look after your family, friends and neighbours first. We are not going anywhere and a boost in the arm when we eventually need it will be best for all.

As a community, we are committed to looking after our members, but also the wider community of Watlington and surrounding villages, plus our fellow clubs if we can. We are stronger together, even if remotely!

We will be putting together a list of members who are willing to volunteer in any way, so we can offer our collective resource to local organisations to help a coordinated response, or to fill any local gaps we can identify.

So we ask you all to remain safe. Help yourselves and others around you to remain safe in any way you can, but also let us know if you are happy to help the wider community in any way. The smallest of actions can have huge outcomes. We know that things may change, so this is an expression of interest, not any level of commitment.

We will provide updates as soon as we have clearer information. Please take time to follow us on Twitter, Facebook and join up to our website to access activities and information when it is added.

Website: watlingtoncc.co.uk
Facebook: Watlingtoncc
Twitter: @Watlingtoncc