Hi Everyone

We hope you and your families are well.

Following the recent change in Government and English Cricket Board (ECB) guidance, we are pleased to announce that we are now able to partially reopen the outdoor cricket nets in Clarence Park, provided we follow the Government and ECB guidelines.

Thanks to a lot of hard work from some of our adult members and their families, the nets at Clarence Park are now up, the covers have been removed and the facility is now ready to use from this Saturday, 23^rd May.

However, as you can appreciate there will be a number of restrictions in place so that we can properly adhere to the Government and ECB advice.

There is quite a lot to remember and process here so please read carefully.

At the moment, you will be able to book a 50-minute slot (with 10 minutes allowed at the end to wipe down equipment and vacate safely) between 11am and 8pm this coming Saturday (23 May) and between 11am and 7pm this coming Sunday (24 May).

You can also book 50-minute slots for next week between 4pm and 7pm from Tuesday to Friday. That equates to three slots per evening.

When we know the following week’s availabilities we will let you know.

See details for booking at the end of this message or visit the club website, log in and click on the 'net bookings' button on the top menu. 

We need to have a Level 2 coach present at all times in the nets so these are the only times we can confirm at the time of writing – we will let you know when other slots become available.

Due to the expected high demand you will only be able to attend one session per week, regardless of whether this is booked by you or another member. If there is more capacity than anticipated this may change this but for now, only one session per week please.

All bookings are on a first come, first served basis.

Your safety and the safety of others is our number one priority so please familiarise yourself with the following information before booking a session:

In accordance with ECB guidelines, we will only be allowing two of the four lanes to open at any one time. Net 1 on the far left hand side and Net 4 on the far right hand side. Nets 2 and 3 should not be used under any circumstances.

One of the lanes (Net 4) will be used primarily for one-on-one coaching sessions with our professional club coach Richard ‘Pies’ Jerome. He will be offering both junior and adult sessions, mainly on evenings and weekends. To book a private coaching session with him please contact Pies directly on Tel: 07894 658060 or email : richardjerome9@googlemail.com -  please note: there will be a separate, private coaching fee payable.

The other lane (Net 1) will be available to book by our adult and junior members. These sessions will consist of a maximum of two people who must observe strict 2m social distancing unless they are from the same household, in which case the maximum number of people allowed is four.

Only St Albans Cricket Club adult and junior members (or their parents) can book and participate in sessions. You cannot book sessions on behalf of non-members (eg friends or players from other clubs) or invite them to participate.

To clarify, parents or guardians of junior member are allowed to book and participate.

All participants must be nominated in advance on your booking form including juniors and you must have received email confirmation of your booking before arrival at the facility.  Participants cannot be changed or substituted after confirmation has been received and a list of participants will be checked prior to each session commencing.

 At least one adult must be present in the nets when juniors are involved. Dropping children off and allowing them to use the nets unsupervised is not permitted.

There will be no refunds for cancelled sessions or no shows. Session slots are limited so please do not book one unless you are certain you can attend.

Helmets must be worn by all batsmen while in the nets when a hard ball is being used.

If not participating with people from your own household each attendee must bring and use their own ball, which must be wiped down before and after each session. Sharing of balls is not permitted and the picking up of someone else’s ball is not permitted unless you are wearing gloves.

If you do not have a ball the club has a limited number of new adult and junior balls left over from last season for purchase by members for a donation of £10 per ball, which will go to the club crisis fund. Alternatively, balls can be purchased online from Amazon, Sports Direct or many other online retailers.

All personal and club equipment including stumps must be properly wiped down with the wipes provided at the end of each session and before leaving the facility. All used wipes must be disposed of properly.  Failure to do this will result in you not being able to participate in any further sessions.

Each session will last 50 minutes with 10 mins allowed at the end to wipe down equipment and vacate the nets before the next session starts. Sessions will cost a minimum £10 donation to the club which can be paid via our JustGiving page after completing your booking -  unless your annual subscription fee has already been paid, in which case there is no charge.

Please note - You cannot use the facility if you or a member of your household has symptoms of coronavirus/COVID-19, however mild.  Hands must be washed thoroughly before arrival and afterwards. Hand sanitizer (which you will need to bring with you) must be applied before commencing each session and afterwards and 2 metre social distancing must be observed at all times unless with members of your own household.

 There will be a full list of instructions displayed in the nets that must be read on arrival. It will include information on health and safety protocols and these rules must be strictly adhered to. Anyone not adhering to these rules will be asked to leave the nets immediately and may be banned from using them in the future.

For more information and to book a session please access the Net Booking page on the club’s website (the link is displayed on the top menu, but only visible to logged in members).  

You will need to log in to the club website using your member details to access the net booking page. If you do not know your login or password, please follow the forgot password link a the top right, and enter the email you receive his message on.

We know that this is a lot of information to process but as you can appreciate this is a tricky situation and we have to make sure that your safety and the safety of others is at the forefront of all our decision making.