NICK HOWSON: Grass roots sport has been curtailed for at least a month,, meaning early winter nets are off, but schools will continue to deliver lessons
Grass roots sport is among the victims of the second lockdown to stem the spread of Covid-19 across England.
There were hopes youth sport might be exempt from the reintroduction of some regulations.
Golf courses, tennis courts, gyms and swimming pools were also optimistic of earning a reprieve, but all will be curtailed and closed until at least December 2.
Ex-DCMS select committee Damian Collins - one of the few MPs in my experience to be passionate about sport and its physical and mental benefits - had appealed to culture secretary Oliver Dowden to reconsider.
It will particularly sting some sports that while their grass roots set-ups will be forced to end, the elite side - even without a sophisticated testing procedure - will continue unaffected.
Cricket did not avoid being affected by the first lockdown. But both the professional and amateur game developed a framework to ensure that when team sport was permitted, it was ready. The sport made the most of what was left of the summer.
With some countries having conquered coronavirus and developed strategies to ensure matches can go ahead, tours scheduled for the coming months are likely to be unaffected. Which is just as well, given the big-ticket items on the horizon.
Schools will also be able to continue largely unaffected. As per The Cricketer School Guide 2021 which will be released on November 27, plenty are offering cricket as an option during the autumn and early winter to make up for time lost during the summer.
Having said that, it should not go overlooked that the Youth Sports Trust says a quarter of secondary schools are not offering physical education of any sort (BBC Sport).
Though schools, where facilities allow, will be able to deliver an indoor programme over the next few weeks and beyond, cricket clubs have been left disappointed by the lockdown.
Coming under the grass roots sport umbrella, hopes of kick-starting their winter training indoors have been curtailed by the ban on the sector. Under-18 players up and down the country whose sides had pencilled in winter nets in November, from Upminster to Esher to Irby, have once again been left disappointed.
Cricket cannot claim to be the most affected sport by the pandemic, but at the same time it has not totally avoided the fresh batch of restrictions just because the clocks have gone back.
Plans for early winter nets have had to be put back by clubs
“Just imagine, IMAGINE this tweet 8/9 years ago. I’m so happy these guys are benefitting positively from the IPL!”
There was a tinge of irony to be found in the ECB posting a tweet lending support to their England players ahead of Rajasthan Royals' clash with Kings XI Punjab last Friday (October 30). And Kevin Pietersen was keen to pounce.
Pietersen was of course one of the strongest overseas supporters of the Indian Premier League upon its inception, reiterating that stance in his autobiography while outlining the ECB's opposition.
Azhar Mehmood and Dimitri Mascarenhas, incidentally, were the only England players to feature in the inaugural edition of the competition, with KP having to wait until 2009. The rest is history.
Without that change of tact - Eoin Morgan was excited at the prospect of his players getting some more exposure to alien conditions ahead of next year's World Cup - we might not have ever learned of the virtues of Ben Stokes opening the innings.
The Durham allrounder's period of quarantine may have forced him to miss the start of the competition but he made up for lost time in his eight outings. Two hundred and eight-five runs at 40.71 and a strike-rate of 142.50 will give Morgan and coach Chris Silverwood food for thought.
Just imagine, IMAGINE this tweet 8/9 years ago...! 🤣🤣🤣
— Kevin Pietersen🦏 (@KP24) October 31, 2020
I’m so happy these guys are benefitting positively from the IPL! 🙏🏽 https://t.co/QqWx9qr1Yx
Jos Buttler (ave 32.80, SR 144.49) was relegated in the Royals' order, Jonny Bairstow (ave 31.36, SR 126.58) has not been at his best and Jason Roy has missed the competition entirely.
It'll be fascinating to see whether England give Stokes a prominent position in the order as a result of his success, when the South Africa T20s start later this month.
And as for the opportunity to play in the IPL (this was his fourth straight campaign and third with the Royals since being signing for £1.37 million in 2018) Stokes knows full well who to thank.
“Before Jos and me, it goes further back to Kevin Pietersen’s playing days...it was him who paved the way for England players. It was a very sensitive subject at that time because of the English contract system and he was very vocal about it,” he told Gulf News earlier in the tournament.
Warwickshire will become the first county to implement the Rooney Rule to appoint Jim Troughton's successor.
It comes two-and-a-half years after the ECB said they would interview at least one applicant from black, Asian or minority ethnic backgrounds during their recruitment process.
The ECB's inclusion and diversity strategy states it wishes to “continue to work with the FCCs in recommending the adoption of the Rooney Rule”.
But at the moment that is all it is, a recommendation.
There is currently just one BAME head coach working in county cricket, with Vikram Solanki promoted to the Surrey hotseat having previously been assistant coach.
Jim Troughton's replacement will be sought using the Rooney Rule
A few weeks later the ECB stated their desire for counties to follow their lead in ensuring there was more diversity across their backroom staff.
The Edgbaston club are not the only first-class county looking for the new coach during the off-season. It is interesting that amid statements from chief executive Rob Andrew and chairman Bob Warren which briefly reference diversity and inclusion plans, Sussex have not committed to the Rooney Rule as they attempt to replace Jason Gillespie. The entire Sussex board is white.
We shouldn't pretend that the Rooney Rule presents all the answers, however. It is open to being exploited by clubs, who could use it as a tick-box exercise rather than an opportunity to open their doors in ways they may never have before.
This can be a particularly damaging regulation if clubs have a specific idea over which individual they want to bring in. The interview process then become slightly worthless.
If cricket wants the rule to be effective, then it needs to commit to developing coaches further down the ladder. If that pledge isn't made, then the sport will continue to select from the small pool which currently exists. Solanki is just the second BAME county head coach this century, after Mark Alleyne at Gloucestershire.
As taking the knee has proved, paying diversity and inclusion lip service doesn’t progress the conversation. It blinds us to the realities of the problem.
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