By Frederick Halley

TORONTO, Canada – The Brampton Etobicoke District Cricket League (BEDCL) is closely monitoring the progress and all of the decisions that are being made by all levels of government in relation to planking the curve of the spread of the now deadly coronavirus.

According to a Facebook post by long-standing president, Praimp Persaud, “we are currently operating under the assumption that we may still be in a position to have a full season or, worst-case scenario, a partial season. We will not be in a position to make such a call until the respective cities have made theirs with respect to either cancelling all outdoor permits for the entire summer or cancelling all outdoor permits for part of the summer.”

 The Guyana-born Persaud pointed out that “at that point, we will be addressing all possible solutions that will be required and will present our membership with the options for your review and approval,  or alternate solutions.”

Persaud said that “at this moment, we are operating as if our season will be operating as normal and have addressed all requirements for teams returning and commitments, payments of membership fees and balls fees, format and teams structure, procuring permits and scheduling.

Alluding to the size of the league, which is the largest in Canada, Persaud said “we must act and  conduct business as usual  as we cannot afford to be scrambling at the last minute to execute all that is required to stage our season; therefore, it is better to be ready to go, if and when the decisions are made by the cities that are within our jurisdictions.”

 The president called on players and officials to be patient and ensure that they do all that is required by the board to stage the 2020 season. “We ask that you stay safe and healthy and observe all of the precautions that have been stated by the various medical experts, governments, cities and municipalities, especially social and physical distancing;  stay home unless you absolutely have to go outside and stay protected when you do.”

Meanwhile, the Scarborough Cricket Association (SCA) has said that it is committed to helping to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as best it can. According to a release from the association, “we are staying as up to date as we can with the recommendations of organisations such as WHO and relevant federal and provincial government organisations. As such, some current and upcoming events will be cancelled or postponed until further notice. We will keep you updated regarding future events as soon as any relevant decision has been made.”

The SCA advised its players to stay safe and do what they can to stay well informed of any government recommendations and if they have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the body.

The events affected to date include the Junior training programme, postponed general meeting which was scheduled for Sunday and the Captain’s Table. The SCA said it will advise later on schedule/permits but will have to wait for the City of Toronto to reopen and confirm its position.