Yorkshire have become the first county to furlough their playing staff, placing all players and coaches on leave until further notice.

The club furloughed their non-playing staff at the end of March in accordance with the government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which allows for up to 80 per cent of all wages to be covered.

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“First and foremost, there is a bigger picture than cricket and it is vitally important that people stay safe, stay healthy and support the NHS in any way possible,” said director of cricket Martyn Moxon. “We are in the midst of a national crisis and cricket is secondary at this moment.

“From a club point of view, we feel that these measures need to be taken to ensure as little damage as possible to the business. The players are disappointed not to be playing as they have worked hard during the winter and have been excited about the season ahead. However, they are all fully understanding of the Club’s decision and we hope that the situation improves as quickly as possible to ensure that everyone can resume some kind of normality as soon as possible.”

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The start county season has been delayed until at least May 28, though that is likely to be pushed back further due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.