We could not leave the lads in India, says Yorkshire CCC chief Martyn Moxon

The Yorkshire squad were hoping to fly back from Mumbai today after the club took the decision to cancel a tour that started on Wednesday and was scheduled to run until March 24.

It followed the cancellation yesterday of India’s home one-day international series with South Africa and the decision to delay the start of the Indian Premier League season from March 29 until April 15.

The delay to IPL – which may also be played behind closed doors if it proceeds – has potential implications for Yorkshire, whose Indian overseas player, Ravi Ashwin, is set to arrive at the club once that two-month tournament concludes.

Martyn Moxon, the Yorkshire director of cricket, said that all the Yorkshire players and support staff in India are fit and well, with head coach Andrew Gale leading that trip.

But he said that it was too risky to allow the tour to continue amid the escalating crisis and that everyone’s health had to come first.

“We couldn’t leave the lads out in India,” said Moxon.

“Events have now obviously taken over and it doesn’t make sense to keep them out there and it’s not worth the risk.

“None of the lads have got any illness and the tour was going really well. That’s the frustration because it was going so well and there was a great opportunity to get in some more good work in the next few days.

“But I think over the last couple of days things have progressed quite a lot, and we clearly can’t leave the lads out there when England are coming home from Sri Lanka, the IPL’s been put back and the India one-day series has been cancelled as well.

“We’ve said all along that we’d take all the necessary advice – we did going out there in the first place, and there was no advice given that said that we shouldn’t go when we did go.

“The lads had all been really looking forward to getting out on the grass again after spending all winter indoors, and the last thing they want ideally is to be back indoors again.

“But everyone’s health has to come first and that’s the club’s priority first and foremost.”

Yorkshire are one of several counties to have cut short or called-off their pre-season tour.

Warwickshire yesterday announced that they are returning early from their trip to La Manga, to where Glamorgan and Gloucestershire have called off impending visits, with counties’ preparations thrown up in the air.

Essex, having initially said yesterday that they would proceed with their ongoing training camp in Abu Dhabi, last night underwent a change of heart.

Derek Bowden, the Essex chief executive, said: “We have been monitoring the Covid-19 situation for a while, and although the area we’re based in is currently one of the least affected regions, the health and well-being of our players and staff is our highest priority, as is the season ahead.

“Therefore, the decision has been made for everybody to return early and to continue with pre-season preparations at Chelmsford.”

Earlier yesterday, Essex’s Champion County match against MCC in Sri Lanka, scheduled to take place in Galle from March 24-27, was also cancelled.

Clubs are reacting with commonsense to an unprecedented situation, with Yorkshire now poised to consider different ways in which they might prepare for the season ahead – whenever that might be.

“We’ll look at alternative arrangements with regards to preparation, but it’s very much weather-permitting as well,” added Moxon.

“Obviously things are a bit wet at the moment here in England as far as grass practice is concerned, but we’ll look at whether we can possibly arrange some practice matches.

“The vast majority of teams are pulling out of their pre-season tours, so there’s going to be a lot of counties wanting to get some fixtures in.

“At the same time, this is a fast-moving situation which seems to be changing from one minute to the next, so it’s very difficult to say what will happen or what the options might be going forward at this point.”

This fact is recognised by the England and Wales Cricket Board, which said that although it will continue to prepare as though the county season is going ahead as normal, that might not be possible as the crisis mounts.

In a statement, the governing body admitted that cancellations cannot be ruled out as the world grapples with the spread of Covid-19.

“We are undertaking a number of steps to prepare for potential outcomes that an ongoing situation with Covid-19 might bring for the cricket community here in England and Wales,” read the statement.

“In conjunction with our partners across the network, we are building contingency plans across a number of possible eventualities.

“Our main priorities are to ensure we scope out the landscape for financial, logistical and scheduling implications. It is difficult for us to be sure of what outcomes the game might be expected to deal with.

“Therefore, we will continue to plan for the expectation that the season proceeds as normal, but in parallel prepare for a range of scenarios.

“These could include the possibility of playing matches behind closed doors, or potentially postponing or cancelling elements of the season.

“We continue to enjoy constructive dialogue with DCMS (Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport) and also our commercial and broadcast partners, who match our ambitions to see the game of cricket thrive in 2020 and beyond.

“We are certain that, jointly, we will all come to solutions that best protect those who love cricket and the game itself.”

Yorkshire plan to decide early next week whether their annual general meeting at Headingley next Saturday can proceed as planned.

The event is usually attended by several hundred members and must now be in doubt due to the crisis.

Yorkshire are supposed to start their County Championship season against newly-promoted Gloucestershire at Headingley on April 12.

They have a three-day fixture against Leeds-Bradford MCCU scheduled from April 2 by way of preparation.