Cricket NSW Coronavirus (COVID-19) advice update
Cricket NSW CEO Lee Germon encourages all associations to proceed with their matches, including finals, providing they place player and stakeholder health and safety at the forefront of those decisions.
“Cricket, like all other communities, is facing an unprecedented and rapidly changing environment regarding Coronavirus (COVID-19). At the same time, we like all organisations and Australians are following the advice of government and medical experts as best we can to ensure people can go about their lives. That includes playing cricket,” Mr Germon said.
“Cricket is played across hundreds of grounds and fields in hundreds of towns and cities across NSW, and each of those regions are effected differently, if at all, by the current Coronavirus situation. Many of those games are played amongst small gatherings of people, so provided all practices are taken to reduce risk for players and stakeholders, and fall within the guidelines and advice of government around exposure, we see no reason the game can’t proceed.
“Cricket NSW provides this advice, including recommendations to reduce risk, to assist associations make decisions relevant to their regions and competitions.”
Cricket NSW advises all clubs and associations to heed the advice of the NSW Health Department and NSW Government in relation to Coronavirus.
Anyone who believes they may have been exposed to the virus should not attend cricket training, matches or other events for 14 days.
Players or match officials who have cause or have been directed to self-isolate in response to Coronavirus are urged to do so.
Anyone who is unwell or unsure should seek medical advice.
Cricket Associations and other organisations conducting cricket programs or competitions are encouraged to make practical and pragmatic decisions in response to these unique circumstances.
One such consideration may include necessitating the substitution of full replacement players (i.e. those entitled to bat, bowl, keep wickets and field) during 2-day or 3-day matches.
A further consideration is to potentially revisit the qualification and eligibility criteria (or exemption criteria) for players to be able to participate in finals fixtures should there be circumstances where there has been significant impact to a team’s ability to field a full team in a match as a result of Coronavirus.
Recommendations to reduce risk
No hand shaking
No team huddles
No sharing of any equipment including cricket equipment other than the ball (e.g helmets,bats, gloves)
Don’t share drinks, towels, lip balm, sunscreen with others (have your own)
Don’t use saliva or sweat to polish ball during the game
Limit dressing room and training attendance mostly to “need to be there” coaching staff
Players stay one metre apart at team meetings (no touching)
Hand sanitiser to be in team rooms, players/staff encouraged to use plus hand washing prior to meals
Food is individually packaged – no finger food, shared serving
People mixing drinks to have gloves & mask while doing so
All players with respiratory or gastrointestinal illness to report this immediately to club and be quarantined from training until assessed and cleared. Do not go to training
NSW Department of Health Guidelines for Coronavirus
Like many, Cricket NSW is monitoring the situation closely. We want to ensure our cricket communities operate in line with community expectations by providing a safe and healthy environment for players across NSW where possible.
Cricket NSW
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