ECB to support professional and recreational game with £61 million package

First-class counties and county cricket boards will receive assistance to the tune of £40 million which includes the deferral of several future payments

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The England and Wales Cricket Board have moved to ease the financial burden on the domestic and recreational game by offering an emergency package worth £61 million to help the sport survive the coronavirus outbreak.

All levels of the game have been suspended amid a partial lockdown of the country, with the summer schedule set to be heavily affected.

While the ECB are putting together a fixture list in the event cricket is able to return in the coming months, the governing body are conscious of the damage the delay or even complete cancellation of the campaign will do.

Therefore, funds are being made available to first-class counties and county cricket boards to help ease the burden during this difficult period - with more to come if the crisis continues.

Forty million pounds will be released immediately in the form of early partnership and facilities maintenance payments - an outlay which includes £1.3 million due from The Hundred. For those counties for whom these instalments are not due, £5.5 million will be made available.

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Additionally, venues which were due to host international matches in 2020 will have another four months to fulfil the payments. They will be written off entirely if the matches are cancelled.

For the recreational game, around £20m is being provided by the ECB through an interest-free loan scheme and grants via the 'return to cricket' policy. Furthermore, there is a 12-month holiday for loan repayments.

Chief executive Tom Harrison said: "We understand these are challenging times and it has been our priority to provide swift and immediate support to all members of the cricket family at every level in England and Wales.

"We are fully aware that the situation with COVID-19 will continue to develop, and it will be months before the full financial fallout is made clear. We will continue work with all of our partners to protect the ongoing health of the entire game in the short term and beyond."