‘Having been stumped on the radio I sought scientific advice’: Recreational cricket CAN return from next weekend as government performs U-turn, says prime minister Boris Johnson
Prime minister Boris Johnson has announced that cricket can resume next weekend with guidelines to be published in the coming days.
‘Having been stumped on radio this morning, the third umpire has been invoked,’ said Johnson.
Explaining his previous comments of a cricket ball being a ‘vector of disease’, he said: ‘I sought scientific advice and medical opinions, the third umpire has been invoked.
Prime minister Boris Johnson has announced that cricket can resume next weekend
‘What I can say is that we do want to work as fast as possible to get cricket back, and we will be publishing guidelines in the next few days so that cricket can resume in time for next weekend.’
Professor Whitty said one of the issues with cricket is that it brings together ‘a much larger number of people in terms of linking households’ than is allowed in guidelines.
He added: ‘It is perfectly possible to have cricket where people do keep their distance, and provided people don’t do things that are clearly not sensible, ranging from hugging the bowler if they just bowled someone for a duck through to spitting on the ball.
‘It should be possible to make the game itself really very safe as an outdoor sport at a distance, it’s not a contact sport in the sense that some of high-risk outdoor sports are.’
He said there were risks with people going into a crowded space such as a pavilion to have a tea or a beer.
