Following a meeting this week we confirm that Steve Isaac is no longer a member of the Two Counties Management Sub Committee.  We would like to record the thanks of the Committee (and we are sure all Member Clubs would wish to do likewise) for all of his hard work for the benefit of the Championship during his time working with us.  We wish him many restful summers going forward.

The main administrators of the Two Counties play-cricket site are now Alan Rogers and Rick Jones and all matters relating to play-cricket should be referred to Alan Rogers with immediate effect.

Thus phoning through your results on match days to the advertised numbers is no longer an option. 

All that will be required is an entry onto play-cricket on the day of the match with the scores and the points gained by each team. This includes all conceded, cancelled, and abandoned matches.  The Home Club must also ensure that the full match scorecard is loaded on to the Two Counties play-cricket website by the Monday following the match or Tuesday for matches played on a Bank Holiday Monday).

It is hoped that member clubs will be patient and understanding while the MSC set up new adminitrative systems…….

FRINTON CC 3RD TEAM

“I have been contacted by the Frinton Chairman and given permission as Championship Representative to let the Two Counties MSC know that Frinton CC are pulling out their 3rd team from Division 6 for this season. 

If availability improves in future years we will/could re enter in the lowest league again. 

FRINTON CC 2ND TEAM AWAY AT LAKENHEATH 17th APRIL

Furthermore we do not have 11 players available  (we only had 5 this morning)  to make 150 miles round trip for this Saturday’s trip to Lakenheath CC due to car sharing not being allowed because of Covid.

We don’t believe we will have further problems with away matches this season as we will have better travel arrangements in place, also we don’t have a long away trip for a while deep into the season.

Pat Patel”

The MSC have agreed to this and so the matches due to be played by Frinton CC in Division 6 this year will be declared void, with no points awarded.  The match between Lakenheath CC and Frinton CC that was scheduled to be played this Saturday 17th April will also be declared void, with no points awarded.

Just to clarify this will mean that only one team will be relegated from Division 6 this season – promotion of two clubs from Division 7 and from Division 6 will remain as per the rules..

As a mark of respect to HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, we ask all Two Counties Championship clubs to observe two minutes silence at 3pm on Saturday April 17th.   We do ask that clubs respect this as all clubs throughout the country are being asked to do so at this designated time.

This is in memory not just of the man and his public service over seventy years but his contribution to our beloved game first as a player and more importantly as a supporter and an administrator in the game over many years.

A decision has been made to publish relevant details on this site in order to save the considerable cost of producing the Handbook.  This was taken in the light of the fact that most will have access to a smart phone or tablet.

The following have been added to the menus at the top of the News Page:

On the Member Club tab……………………….  Click on the + against the club to access all contact details

On the Umpires Panel tab ……………………..   A list of current umpires

On the More tab ……………………………………..  A list of the MSC and their details.  The Schedule of Standards is also on the tab (but clearly the current Covid regulations will affect this.)

On the Rules tab ……………………………………… A list of relevant rules including playing conditions.  Major changes to the rules are clearly marked in bold italics.

Also if any of the club information changes, then please inform Rick Jones as soon as possible so that the website can remain up-to-date.

Sudbury 4th XI are looking for a handful of friendly matches on Saturdays or Sundays.

Very much a team that includes youth and experience so not a very strong side but very friendly good social cricket.
We can look at home and away options. We have a slot we are trying to fill at Sudbury, Friars Street on Sunday June 6th
If any clubs have gaps and looking for a Saturday or Sunday option we can look into it.

Please contact the Sudbury CC 4th team captain Paul Edwards on
07771575374 or email sudburyccsecretary@hotmail.co.uk

Just to reinforce ……it is the intention of the Two Counties Championship to start our season on Saturday 17^th April with a full fixture list as published.

However we have heard recently that the DCMS have clarified with the DFT that car sharing is not permitted until Step 3 which is due to be implemented on May 17^th.

“Car sharing is not permitted with someone from outside your household or your support bubble unless your journey is undertaken for an exempt reason. Sport and physical activity is not an exempt reason, so you cannot car share for sport and physical activity”.

This of course has implications for the first 5 weeks of the season.  But as the vast majority are very keen to play a full season of competitive cricket this year, we are hoping that clubs will still find a way to fulfil these fixtures.  We emphasise however that no club should feel any pressure to travel if they do not think it feasible to so do.  Therefore:

• The average system as outlined in an earlier post will now apply for the season, starting on April 17^th.
• Promotion and relegation will still apply until we exceed the “66% rule” as posted earlier.  The “66% rule” will obviously apply to the current travel restrictions as they are covid related.
• The MSC will not impose financial penalties for these weeks should it not be possible for the away team to travel, as long as the home team is informed by 8pm on Thursday.  If notice is not given by this time, Clubs are reminded that the MSC can impose a fine of £10 against the offending club
  
• Cancellations must be confirmed and the umpires informed by Thursday 8pm at the latest.  The Secretary and Fixture Secretary must also be advised.
• In the event of a cancellation (for this 5 week period only) should both sides be in agreement we will allow a match to be re-arranged and played on an alternative day – including Bank Holiday Mondays or Sundays. Should re-arrangement be possible then the Home club must advise both the Secretary and Fixtures Secretary.

Whilst we are fully aware that the above is open to abuse you are reminded that the MSC are empowered under the rules to act where abuse is seen.  However in the exceptional circumstances in which we find ourselves, it is to be hoped that this will not happen.

With the issue of travel seemingly on the back burner,  we seem ready to go…….

https://www.ecb.co.uk/news/2072091/crickets-return-to-play-roadmap-for-england-and-guidance-for-wales

In the event of a full season not being possible due to the re-imposition of Covid regulations. The following changes will be made to the structure of the League tables.

We shall revert to an average points based system, as we used up until the start of the 2012 season. For those that will not have played under these conditions before, we should explain that only completed matches will be used in the calculations of the average points. Cancelled, and abandoned matches will simply be void, and the points removed.

In the event of the season having to be curtailed without 66% of the weeks having been successfully completed, then promotion and relegation will not be imposed, however, the trophies for the divisions shall still be awarded.

It is with regret to state that Halstead Cricket Club are in the unfortunate situation of being unable to field a league side in Division Nine Group 2.

With the structure of our third team, the travel requirements of the league, combined with the effects of the pandemic, we will not be in a position to fulfil the league fixtures.

We would like to apologise to the league sides affected.

We have not disbanded our third eleven and will build for the future by playing local friendly cricket to introduce our youth to longer format of the game. Our intention is to come back to league cricket when we are in a stronger position.

David Brooker (Chairman),  Halstead Cricket Club

Following hard on the heels of the withdrawal of Ipswich 3rd XI, Halstead Cricket Club have now, officially, informed the League that they are withdrawing their 3rd XI from Division Nine Group 2.

This will leave this division as an eight team division whilst Group 1 will have ten teams, but too late in the day to switch one team across the sections.

A letter from David Brooker, Halstead Chairman is posted above ……