Message from Chief Executive, Ryan Duckett
I hope that each and every one of you and your families are keeping well at this challenging time.
These are unprecedented times for all of us, and although we are currently missing those days on the boundary enjoying cricket, the safety of those close to us and the wider society come first.
On Friday, the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced that there will be no professional cricket played before at least 1 July and that a revised fixture schedule would be laid out in due course.
As part of this extended postponement, the domestic game will lose nine rounds of County Championship matches, with a late-summer schedule to focus on the Vitality Blast, as well as hopefully a proportion of four-day cricket.
As I commented publicly following the ECB announcement, while it is bitterly disappointing to lose nine rounds of County Championship cricket, we must prioritise the most profitable formats in order to protect the future of the whole of county cricket.
The club is currently working hard, alongside the ECB and all other counties, to minimise the impact the coronavirus pandemic has on the season and the game as a whole.
But it will come as no surprise to you that our income has been severely affected and we as a club must mitigate against this by putting in place a number of cost-saving measures across the business.
This month we placed the vast majority of off-field staff and players on furlough leave through the government’s Job Retention Scheme and I must note that this essential measure was wholly supported by all those involved and I thank all staff and players for their understanding. We also renegotiated the contracts of our two overseas players, Ben McDermott and Sean Abbott.
The Incora County Ground remains closed to the public, while Head Groundsman Neil Godrich continues to prepare pitches so that we are ready to host cricket as soon as it is safe to do so.
While we cannot currently welcome you to a cricket fixture, our Members are at the forefront of our planning and it was pleasing to see so many of you join us on our first digital Members’ Forum last week. These are an excellent opportunity to provide you with updates and discuss our planning with you and I hope we can see many more of you next month.
Much of the summer still remains unknown and alongside the ECB and other counties, we continue to discuss the impact of this situation on Members and the amount of cricket available. The Chairman, Supervisory Board and I are keen to ensure we prioritise our Members, while protecting the long-term future of the club. I will continue to communicate any updates to you directly and as soon as we are in a position to share meaningful news.
Lastly, I encourage you to get involved with the club’s Together, We Are All Derbyshire initiative, which is a supporter-driven campaign to make sure we keep cricket talking. From features on historic matches to full matches re-streamed, we want to keep connected with our Members and supporters. Please visit derbyshireccc.com, or email [email protected] to find out more.
Five members of our squad, including captain Billy Godleman, have volunteered to call a number of Members to check on their welfare and provide a friendly voice at the end of the phone. I’m sure many of you are keeping in contact with each other in a similar way and if you know of anyone who would benefit from a call from the club, please do let us know and we will do our best to accommodate.
On behalf of everyone at the club, I would like to thank you for your ongoing support and understanding. I look forward to welcoming you back to The Incora County Ground when we are able to host cricket once again.
Kind regards,
Ryan Duckett
Chief Executive
Members’ Forum
Following the ECB update on 24 April, we encourage all Members to sign-up for the next exclusive Members Forum on Thursday 21 May in order for the Supervisory Board to provide updates on Membership for the 2020 season.
Thursday 21 May
7.00 – 8.00pm
Zoom Video Conference
Pre-Registration essential
Click HERE for full details and to register.
Contact Us
While a skeleton group of staff work remotely, we ask that you first email all enquiries to [email protected] where possible.
