The Club Committee met (over Zoom) on 22 April 2020, to update the club’s strategy on our response to the COVID-19 crisis, and the impact to the coming season.

At the time of writing, the ECB have suspended all group recreational cricket activities until further notice, and we are still unclear as to how much of a delay there will be to the start of the 2020 outdoor season.

Whilst we are prudently planning for the worst case, we are still doing everything we can to ensure we are prepared to start at short notice. When the event restrictions are lifted and we move outdoors safely, WE ARE READY!

Until then, the show must go on, and although this unusual season will be starting in a slightly different way, it will nonetheless be starting!

Virtual Training – Launching Friday 24 April
Our “virtual” training program starts this Friday 24 April at 6pm. The sessions will be run over ZOOM by our Head Coach, Scott Simmons. We will be running sessions for each age group during the week, including seniors, and a fun “Cricket For All” session on Friday evenings.

Please do keep an eye out for information from your Captains or Team Managers.

Matches / Competitions
As it stands all junior and senior matches are currently suspended indefinitely. The club are in regular contact with the organisers of all competitions, and contingency plans are being put in place to adjust the format of these competitions to work across a reduced season.

Finances & Subscriptions
As a club we are expecting 2020 to be a very difficult year for us financially. Our main source of income is from our members, and no cricket means no income. We have a number of fixed overheads that need to continue to be paid, and we have invested heavily in our facilities over the course of the last Winter.

For these reasons, we have decided to progress with collection of annual subscriptions from all of our members in the usual way, however payment of these is on a voluntary basis until such time as the outdoor season gets going.

If you are in a position to be able to pay these subs now to help support the club, as you would in a regular season, then we ask that you do so. All of our subscriptions can be paid either in full or in 3 installments.

Payment is of course entirely voluntary, and all of our members are welcome to continue their participation in club activities whether they are able to pay or not.

Once the picture on our finances becomes clearer, if we are able to apply a discount to subscription levels then anyone who has already paid will receive a refund of the discounted amount.

Social Events
We are continuing to adapt our social calendar to accommodate the lock down, and it was brilliant to see so many of our young cricketers and their families taking part in our online Family Race Night.

Please keep an eye out on the website and WhatsApp groups for information on our next virtual social event – UCC’s Big Auction & Family Quiz - on Saturday 2nd May. It would be great to see as many of you involved as possible!

Scott, Kevin, Nicky, Middle & the team are also keeping our website and social media platforms updated daily with news, updates, challenges and other information and articles. Please do take the time to keep up to date with this information where possible.

If you have any questions about our strategy please do speak with your captain, team manager, or you can contact me at chairman@upminstercc.co.uk

We very much look forward to catching up with you all in person later in the summer. Until then, my best wishes to you and your families. Stay safe.