Chairman’s update – 10/09/2020

As you all know, 2020 has been a difficult year, both in terms of cricket and also with regard to ‘normal’ life. Yesterday the Prime Minister gave a further update on restrictions for the country, and that taken in tandem with further restrictions in the area meant the Bolton Cricket League announced they have terminated the 2020 season. Whilst this will not necessarily have a direct material impact upon Thornham, and the GMCL competition is currently scheduled to continue, it seemed appropriate for me to address the membership at this time.

To quote the Chancellor, this year and season have indeed been ‘unprecedented’. At Club level, our volunteers have put in hours and hours of effort to ensure Thornham could re-open, first as a bar, and subsequently for cricket. This involved time spent reading guidance, discussing different viewpoints and making decisions accordingly. When new updated guidance has come out, we have moved with the times where possible. At all times our priority has been the safety of our volunteers and members. I accept that this has come at a cost – we have all had to make sacrifices, and continue to do so. Believe me, I do not enjoy sitting for hours every week reading ECB/Government guidance.

The adaptive cricket regulations in place come directly from the ECB – the Club must adhere to these or we would not be able to play cricket.

The social distancing measures in place come directly from the Government – the Club must adhere to these or we would not be able to play cricket.

To make it clear – neither myself nor any other member of the Committee has decided upon the cricket regulations, they are unfortunately just something we have to live with. The decisions we have taken in and around the bar are all in line with Government guidelines and designed most of all to keep everybody safe. An awful lot of time and effort has gone into making the Club an environment where we can enjoy the return of cricket, and I would urge all our members to show their appreciation of that effort by simply abiding by the rules when at the Club.

The very last thing that we want, with only three weekends of the shortened season left to play, is for us to be shut down. This would not be fair on anyone who has worked so hard to ensure that we can open up. We have seen other clubs closed temporarily, some for only one week and some for longer.

Even if you don’t necessarily agree with the restrictions in place, for everyone’s sake please adhere to them, and maintain your social distancing at all times, so that we can continue to play the game that we love.

Thank you

Andrew
Chairman
Thornham CC