ECB insists local cricket is safe to start, as PM Johnson blames teas!

The England and Wales Cricket Board has reiterated its stance that recreational cricket is safe to play.

While tennis has been allowed to resume by the Government following the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, thousands of village cricketers are still inactive as they wait for the green light to start their summer.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has hinted that recreational cricket is not yet safe to be played due to issues surrounding communal teas and dressing rooms, but the governing body disputes that and says it has provided protocols on how the game can be restarted.

"The ECB believes that cricket is a non-contact sport, with very low risks of exposure, and that it can be played as safely as many other activities being currently permitted," it said in a statement.

"The detailed submission we have shared with the Department For Digital, Culture, Media and Sport includes advice on how we can stage cricket safely and mitigate all potential risks.

"We believe this advice - allied with strict hygiene measures - means recreational cricket should be viewed as safe by the UK Government, which would be welcome news to our nation's recreational cricketers."

Johnson had previously described the cricket ball as a "vector of disease" but said the dangers were more widespread.

"There are reasons. These debates have gone round and round," he said on LBC Radio.

"There are various other considerations. The longer answer, which I think probably (chief medical officer) Chris Whitty would give if he were here about cricket, the risk is not so much the ball, although that may be a factor.

"It's the teas, it's the changing rooms and so on and so forth. There are other factors involved that generate proximity which you might not get in a game of tennis."

England all-rounder Sam Curran is awaiting the results of a Covid-19 test after being placed in self-isolation at the Ageas Bowl, casting a shadow over the intra-squad clash.

Curran batted on the first evening in Southampton, making 15 not out from 25 balls, but experienced sickness and diarrhoea during the night.

In line with strict medical protocols he has remained in his room at the on-site hotel and played no part in Thursday's or Friday’s play.