Further to the statement released by the club on Monday 16th March, Middlesex Cricket has taken further steps to mitigate the risk to players, staff, members and supporters surrounding the current COVID-19 pandemic.
In these unprecedented times, where the landscape is rapidly changing, the club will continue to make sensible risk-based decisions as the situation evolves and will be taking all necessary steps to ensure the welfare and safety of all associated with Middlesex Cricket - which remains our primary concern.
We remain in constant liaison with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) and are ensuring that all our policies and decisions we make adhere to the latest advice from both the Government and Public Health England.
Since Monday, the club have therefore taken the following steps:
Staff working remotely – All staff in the Middlesex office at Lord’s and at the club’s Academy/Indoor School facility in Finchley are now working remotely. We have made every possible provision to ensure that this has minimal impact on our service levels to members and supporters. As such, the phone lines have been diverted to staff working remotely. Should you have any questions then please call either 0207 289 1300 for the Lord’s office, 0208 346 8020 for the Finchley Academy, or email [email protected].
Office closures – Until further notice, both the Lord’s office and the Finchley facility are closed, due to staff working remotely. We will post an update when this situation changes, although for the foreseeable future both facilities are closed to the public.
Lord’s closures – Our landlords at Lord’s, MCC, are also working remotely, and whilst the ground remains open and manned by security personnel, many facilities are closed to the public. Until further notice, the Lord’s Tavern, the Indoor School, the Tennis & Squash Courts, the Gym, the Lord’s Pavilion and the Tours office remain closed and unavailable.
Event postponements – For the safety and wellbeing of those likely to attend, the club has postponed several scheduled pre-season social and official events. The Members’ Quiz Night (scheduled for Tuesday 24th March), the Meet the Players Family Day at Lord’s (scheduled for Sunday 29th March) and the Annual General Meeting (scheduled for Tuesday 7th April) have all been postponed. Those who have purchased tickets to any of these events have been contacted directly and advised of our refund or exchange policy.
Pre-season fixture cancellation - Both Middlesex Cricket and Kent County Cricket Club have reached the sensible decision to cancel the two-day pre-season friendly fixture, scheduled to begin at Merchant Taylors’ School in Northwood on Thursday 26th March. This fixture will not be rearranged.
Youth Cricket programme – Again, for the wellbeing and safety of all involved, with immediate effect and until further notice, the club have cancelled the winter programme of all Youth Cricket in Middlesex. This includes all County Age Group sides and the Elite Player Group programme, who would normally all train at the closed Indoor School facility at Finchley.
2020 season – At present, the 2020 season is scheduled to begin in early April, although, as has been well publicised this week, the ECB are in constant liaison with all eighteen first-class counties and MCC to assess the impact that any change to the playing schedule would have. We will of course update members if and when there is any change to the 2020 schedule.
The Middlesex professional squad – As stated on Monday, the players arrived back safely from a very productive pre-season tour in Oman, returning to the UK a few days earlier than planned. In accordance with the latest Government advice, the players and coaching staff are adhering to all good social distancing practices, including adopting a pre-season strategy of training in smaller, more isolated groups for the foreseeable future.
In such a fast-moving environment, the club will likely need to make further risk-based decisions that could have an impact on many members and supporters of Middlesex Cricket in the coming weeks and even months. These are extremely testing times for us all and we would like to thank everyone for their understanding. You have our absolute assurance that the club are remaining utterly vigilant at all times, are treating this matter with the utmost seriousness and that all decisions made will be based on the health, safety and wellbeing of all associated with the club.
The Middlesex website (www.middlesexccc.com) remains the best source of information for club updates on this ongoing situation, although we will continue to email all members, who we have a valid email address for, with the latest news as and when the situation changes. If you are a member and wish to start receiving email communications from us, then please contact us at [email protected].
