Cricket issued major warning as ECB insist coronavirus crisis poses "biggest challenge"

NICK HOWSON: Chief-executive Tom Harrison says further clarity over the schedule will be made available in April and "all scenarios" are on the table regarding the calendar

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Tom Harrison, the England and Wales Cricket Board chief-executive has warned the sport to prepare for things to get worse before they get better as the coronavirus pandemic threatens to wipe out the 2020 campaign.

The professional season has been delayed by at least seven weeks and the recreational game suspended indefinitely amid the global pandemic, with concerns growing whether any cricket will be possible this summer.

Around £61 million has been made available by the ECB to first-class counties, county cricket boards and the grassroots to help ease the financial burden created by the lack of cricket.

However, according to Harrison the sport has to be prepared for the situation to worsen if any more of the calendar is lost - but that further support will be made available. However, England players will not be asked to take a pay cut.

"It is no exaggeration to say that this is the biggest challenge the ECB have faced in their history," Harrison, who earned £719,175 in 2018-19 but will take a pay cut during this period, told the media.

"There is more pain ahead if we lose substantial portions of the season. We are building scenarios where we can take further steps if needed. We don’t think this will be the end of it."

The ECB are currently compiling contingency plans in the event the campaign can start in June, July, August or beyond but would require government clearance before staging a major event. Further clarity over how the season could be structured will be released in April.

Among the models being considered by the ECB is the prospect of not a single ball being bowled during the summer - though Harrison is confident the sport could recover from such a blow.

^{The future of The Hundred remains uncertain}

"In our modelling one is no cricket at all – if we come back from that point then things only get easier," he added.

"There are others that are worse than no cricket at all. As many sports are finding out – this highlights where your issues are as a sport and clearly and we as a sport whave a high cost base and this is something we have to address.

"Ultimately all of those lessons have to be learnt in future issues - whether it is climate change or something similar to this."

England's international schedule, the T20 Blast and the inaugural season of The Hundred will be prioritised in any revised calendar formed by the ECB.

Among the possible solutions for the men's national team could be to stage Test and white-ball match either simultaneously or on consecutive days - with separate squads for each format.

Harrison says the ECB will have to think "creatively" when it comes to the fixture list and refused to rule out any outcome.

"All scenarios are on the table – we will have to take a view on what is possible," Harrison stated.

"It isn’t just about The Hundred – when things are difficult you should be careful about your priorities in terms of serving your core audience. 

^{Coronavirus testing units could be situated outside venues this summer}

"The scenarios are being debated at length."

The ECB are refusing to rule out the first edition of The Hundred potentially being delayed by 12 months, but every effort will seemingly be made to ensure as many formats as possible can go ahead. That includes venues being made "bio-secure".

"We will have to have discussions in a few weeks about getting crowds into stadiums – if that is not going to be possible and we can serve cricket fans in this country in some way then we will look at that," said Harrison.

"We will put the safety of players and those working in the game at the heart.

"It is not just about behind closed doors for The Hundred  - it is one of the issues we are grappling with.

"It is a strategically important tournament for the game – it is at times like this when you go back to what it really important

"We are going to have county fans who won’t have seen any cricket, players who we don’t want sitting around, we want them out playing cricket and all of our decisions are based on all of those factors. No hard decisions have been taken yet."