There have been some developments in the last week which we want to let you know about.
League cricket this season
Having accepted that it is no longer possible to start a league on 4th July, the Dorset Cricket League have sent out proposals for a 6 week competition starting on Saturday 1st August so long as the ECB has given permission for matches to start by then. All games would be 40 overs. The leagues will be restructured into divisions of 12, split regionally into 2 mini-groups of 6. Over 5 weeks each team in a mini-group will play each other. Then in the final week the winners of the 2 regions will play each, the teams finishing 2nd will play each other etc. In total they are hoping to have 5 leagues of 12 - the matches will have no bearing on which division a team plays in next season.
The League have also asked whether we would be interested in entering a T20 competition in September.
We need to let the League know by 5th July how many teams we would like to enter in the 6 week competition and whether we want to enter the T20 competition (I assume there is no reason why we cannot enter more than one team). I know the captains have started the process of contacting players and to date the response has been very good. If you haven't been contacted yet, please let one of the captains or me (Nick W) know if you want to play.
We have also been told in the last week that there will be no Wimborne Evening League matches this season.
Outdoor practices
Following the Government's recent relaxation of the lockdown, the ECB has issued guidance so that clubs can run small group sessions (of a maximum of 6 people) so long as appropriate health and safety measures are applied and social distancing is maintained. We have started to run small group sessions for the juniors in Poole Park this week and are planning to extend these to the adults in the near future. At the moment all sessions are on the artificial wicket.
Joey Wormington is running a booking system for the net in Poole Park to ensure sessions do not get doublebooked. If you would like to have a net session for a maximum of 6, I suggest you contact your captain or Joey. It is a requirement that there is a club official present throughout the practice (who may or may not be one of the 6 playing) and we currently do not have access to the pavilion. There will be a charge because the Council are charging the club for the use of the facility.
It is really important that we run these sessions safely and adhere to the rules relating to small groups. It is possible for more than one group to train at the same time so, for example one group could go in the nets for an hour, whilst another group does a fielding drill - then they could swap activities, but they must remain in the same group of 6. As well as the risks relating to Covid 19 we also need to take care when batting - for this reason we are planning that adult practices take place later in the evening once the Park is quieter.
Peter Dooker
Peter Dooker's funeral is taking place tomorrow (19th June).
In view of the current global health issues, a private service is being held with immediate family only.
The family have requested family flowers only, however, donations in memory of Peter can be made to Poole Town Cricket Club (Development Fund) via the website of Tapper Funeral Service https://www.tapperfuneralservice.co.uk
There have been many wonderful tributes written both by current and former members of the Club and friends from other clubs. I plan to collate these into one document. If anybody would like to contribute then please either add to the comments on the Club's Facebook page or email me on nicko.williams@yahoo.co.uk. I would also welcome any thoughts you have with regards to how we should celebrate/recognise Peter's contribution to the Club in the future.