TOP-LEVEL talks are taking place as leagues discuss how the new season will take shape.

The government has given its blessing for recreational cricket to start again from this weekend.

The news – coming so soon after prime minister Boris Johnson said the cricket ball was a ‘natural vector of disease’ – has sent league officers into a series of meetings to decide what is possible in a shortened season.

They are waiting for the ECB and the government to issue their guidance on what will be permitted – with clubs hoping 11-a-side cricket will be allowed.

Richard Myers of Alton, a key figure in the county league set-up, said he was hopeful full teams will be allowed to play, and that they won’t be restricted to six- or eight-a-side matches.

“I fear if it’s only six or eight, many players won’t want to play,” he said. “It will be too far removed from proper cricket for them.

“I’m touching wood, but I think we will be allowed 11. But there are a lot of things still to consider, as well as the number of players.

“Cleaning the ball is one. Do players clean it between overs, or will the umpire do it? Will we play with two balls, so an umpire can be cleaning one while the other is being used at the other end? Will wicket keepers be allowed to stand up to the wicket?

“We are still waiting to hear about changing rooms and teas, but I think both of those will be a ‘no’. Players will have to turn up to games already changed, and have to bring their own tea.

“And if there is a rain break, players will have to sit it out in their own cars.”

Myers says one argument that may be given for a reduced-numbers game is that fewer players would touch the ball.

“But having 11 fielders in a field, along with two batsmen and two umpires, is still a lot better than the scenes at Soho we saw on Saturday night.

“It will be a real damp squib for cricket players if we come out of all this and are permitted only six or eight-a-side matches.”

If 11-a-side cricket is permitted, plans are well advanced for a Southern Premier League Cup to get under way on July 18.

The 40-over competition will run until September 12 and the Premier League and Division 1 will be put together and regionalised.

In the Premier, the 40 clubs will be split into four divisions of ten, separated into East and West divisions. That means sides like Rowledge, Alton, Basingstoke, the Hampshire Academy, Portsmouth and Havant could potentially meet.

Myers said Alton were planning having two matches on their two pitches at Jubilee Playing Fields home this weekend, with a combined firsts and seconds game on one, and the third and fourths playing on the other.

“We think it’s a good idea to have a dry run to see how things work out,” he said.

“It’s good preparation for the players, of course, but we may find that during the games something comes up we hadn’t thought about, so we could stop and make adjustments.”

If the go-ahead is given for full-sized matches, fixture lists would be issued to clubs today (Thursday).

The Hampshire Cricket League’s management committee is also monitoring government advice, and will send out more detailed information this week.

The league says: “We will also give clubs a detailed plan for the rest of the 2020 season, re-arranging of fixtures, loan players facility and match contacts to help all clubs arrange fixtures.

“We are delighted the government has given the green light for recreational cricket to return, with adjustments to respect hygiene and social distancing.”

ECB chief executive Tom Harrison said: “We have had a responsibility throughout this period to work with the government and to plan alongside the cricket network to try to mitigate Covid-19’s impact on the 2020 season.

“We have maintained a constant dialogue with the government and they’ve been supportive of our desire to see recreational cricket return when it is safe. They now agree that with appropriate measures in place to mitigate the risk, it is safe.

“We know how difficult it has been for everyone to go without cricket this summer.

“As the nation’s summer sport we believe we have a role to play in getting people active across the country, especially young people, and it is heartening to know that club cricket – albeit with social distancing in place and some other adaptations – will soon be back.”