ECB Messaging Update

Please find information below regarding the latest Government update, ECB action to drive out discrimination and increase diversity, and Online Security for Clubs.

Post-lockdown Regional Tiers England

Following the confirmation by the Prime Minister on 23 November that England will return to a three-tier system of regional restrictions once the current lockdown period ends at 00:01 on 2 December, ECB is working with DCMS and Sport England on the full details of what this means for cricket.

We can confirm that:

• Organised activities for U18s in groups of up to 15 and disabled people will be able to continue indoors across all tiers;

• In Tier 1 areas, organised adult cricket indoors can take place subject to the rule of six in a COVID secure environment – as per the arrangements in place for Tier 1 prior to the latest lockdown;

• In Tier 2 areas, organised adult sport can only take place indoors if there is no interaction between people from different households. For cricket activity this means (subject to a satisfactory risk assessment of the individual facilities) that a net session is allowed between individuals from a different household, but only on a 1:1 basis. If individuals from different households want to net together indoors, the maximum number of people permitted to take part in an indoor net session is three – two taking part in the session and one coach, who must remain socially distanced.

• In all cases, the COVID risk assessment of the individual facilities must consider whether indoor nets should be used on an ‘every other’ basis.

• Coach education can continue under all tiers in line with the work exemption where this cannot be done from home;

• In Tier 3 areas, adult 1:1 coaching is restricted to one player and one coach.

• Elite cricket activity can continue to take place across all tiers;

• Outdoor cricket activity will be able to resume across all tiers.

On Thursday 26 November, the Government published the full list of local restrictions by area in England. You can find out which area applies to you here.

As a naturally socially distanced sport, ECB does not consider that playing cricket contributes to the spread of COVID-19 in any significant way, and it continues to play a key role in helping to safely maintain the health and wellbeing of the nation under coronavirus restrictions. We thank everyone from the cricket community who has contacted their local MP to highlight this point - we know that this has had an impact on the decision to allow outdoor cricket activity, indoor U18 and disability cricket to fully resume post-lockdown.

We are awaiting further clarification around travel restrictions for each tier and for what purpose. As soon as we have full confirmed guidance we will publish an updated summary for all cricket activity by tier that can take place from Wednesday 2 December onwards in England. We are also in the final stages of confirming indoor guidance for cricket activity in Wales and are hoping to publish this as soon as possible.

ECB action to drive out discrimination and increase diversity

In the next stage of continuing work to increase inclusion and diversity through its Inspiring Generations strategic plan, the ECB today announced a series of further measures to help make cricket a game for everyone.

These new steps were approved by the ECB Board on 24 November 2020 and will form part of a new Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Plan which will be rolled out over the coming months, to make the game more representative and drive out discrimination of any kind. For more information, click here.

Online Security for Clubs

We have recently been made aware of a number of clubs being targeted by scams requesting immediate payment of an outstanding bill. These scams and phishing emails have become increasingly sophisticated and we urge clubs to be extremely vigilant and protect themselves against any unsolicited messages requesting payment.

Although most spoofed email falls into the nuisance category and require little action other than deletion, the more malicious varieties can cause serious problems and pose security risks. 

Typical tricks employed are to send out emails which contain a malicious link to install malware on your machine or take you to a site which asks you to provide sensitive data.  Another technique is to craft an email containing an attachment which can install malware when opened, or the aim is simply to trick you into transferring money; this particular method can be clever and pernicious.

To help prevent becoming a victim of this type of attack, please always take the following steps when opening an email:

• Unless you are expecting the email, even if the sender purports to be from the ECB or wider cricket family, do NOT click on the link or download the attachment.  If it is from the ECB and contains an attachment, get in touch with us to ask if this is genuine.

• In the case of a link hover over it to identify the site – if it is well known to you then access the site from a browser using just the site address; do NOT use the link itself.  

Other top tips on how to avoid scams are:-

• Your bank will never phone or email asking for your pin or passwords

• Watch out for poor grammar or dodgy spelling

• Call people back – but find the number independently

• Be aware or urgent deadlines or being by requests for payment upfront

• Set up a system that requires at least two people at your club to approve payments

Report the scam to the police through Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040, or report a scam anonymously on its website.

England & Wales Cricket Board, Lord's Cricket Ground, London, NW8 8QZ

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