ECB announce further delay to start of season

It means nine rounds of fixtures will be lost in the County Championship season, but blocks for red- ball cricket and white-ball cricket will be held in a revised schedule.

The Vitality Blast will be pushed as late in the season as possible to give it the best opportunity of being staged and all matches previously scheduled in June will be moved later in the season.

International cricket, featuring England men’s and women’s teams, will look to be scheduled from July until the end of September.

An additional Board meeting will be scheduled next Wednesday on The Hundred, following a request to dedicate a further session to the competition.

Chief Executive of Derbyshire County Cricket Club, Ryan Duckett, said: “The ECB have taken extensive guidance when making this decision and made it clear that the safety of the wider society must come before sport and cricket will return once it is safe to do so.

“Across the game, all counties are working with the ECB to reduce the impact of coronavirus on the season and to maximise whatever cricket we are able to host.

“While it is bitterly disappointing to lose nine rounds of County Championship cricket, it is not safe to stage cricket at this time and should we be able to do so later in the season, we must prioritise the most profitable formats in order to protect the future of the whole of county cricket.

“I would like to thank our Members – who joined us for a first virtual Members’ Forum last week – for their support of the club’s plans to mitigate against these unprecedented circumstances.

“I would also like to thank our supporters, sponsors and stakeholders for their understanding, and we hope to be able to welcome them back to The Incora County Ground later this summer.”

Derbyshire County Cricket Club will continue to communicate all updates to its Members and supporters via derbyshireccc.com.