On the most recent Wisden Club Cricket Podcast in association with NatWest, panellists Phil Walker and Yas Rana discussed, among other things, the new regulations brought in by the ECB to keep the return of club cricket as safe as possible.
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The pair praised the ECB’s work in getting recreational cricket back so soon but highlighted one new regulation that they’re both finding tough to adhere to. The ECB’s ‘Return To Cricket Plan For Step 4’ document states that players “should arrive changed and ready to begin the warm-up, if possible”.
Phil and Yas both stated that they’d rather, weather permitting, change outdoors at the venue than travel through London in full whites. Here’s how their discussion panned out:
Yas Rana: I’m really not keen on the idea of walking through London and then getting on a train for 45 minutes in full whites.
Phil Walker: I know this is written down, but there’s no way I’m walking across London in full whites. Strike me down, I changed at the side of the pitch.
YR: That’s what I intend to do unless it rains, which is what it might well do tomorrow.
PW: I didn’t see anybody turn up in full whites on either team or anybody in the intra-club game. As I say, my club doesn’t have a reputation for moral rectitude but I’d be very surprised if there are many people rocking up, fully spiked up ready to go in full whites. It’s not necessary, is it, if you’re changing outside anyway?
