Latest news with #DanburyCricketClub
BBC News
19 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Cricket called off in Danbury after man says he was hit by a ball
Cricketers have called on a parish council to let them play after the sport was suspended when a member of the public reported he was hit by a cricket sound of leather on willow has been heard in the village of Danbury, Essex, for centuries, but three clubs were now prohibited from using Dawson Fields for alleged incident happened last month, but a campaign has since been launched to reinstate cricket in the village. Rory Carlton, club secretary of Danbury Cricket Club, said: "Cricket has been a huge part of my life, we need the parish council to see sense."The council said it was looking into "mitigations". Man 'hit on leg' by ball Cricket was suspended after an alleged incident on 17 May when Danbury Cricket Club played South Woodham and Burnham's third team. According to the club, an entry was made in the incident log at the nearby leisure centre stating somebody was "hit by a cricket ball on [the] leg whilst unloading/loading his car".Mr Carlton, 36, said none of the players playing that day had any recollection of the incident, and added: "When you are playing cricket, your eyes are focused on the ball and you are following that and tracking that, so we are trying to understand how that happened."Signs have now been put up around the boundary of the cricket pitch, adjacent to the public car park, stating that the sport is currently suspended. Danbury Cricket Club is not the only team to use the pitch, and it is also home to two other cricket teams, Tuskers and Oaklands. Mr Carlton hopes the parish council will let them all play again soon. He added: "It's a really sad state of affairs. For the community, it would be such a shame for cricket to stop being played here."I found a record of a game in 1799 against Little Baddow, which Danbury won, so if it was to cease, it would just be a real tragedy." Danbury Parish Council has organised a meeting for residents to discuss the future of cricket in the village on 19 April Chapman, the council chairman, said: "Cricket has not been banned in Danbury. There was an incident where someone in our car park was hit by a cricket ball. "A majority of the council at a subsequent meeting decided to suspend cricket for three weeks until we had a report from our health and safety advisors as to what mitigations could be taken."Chapman said the council would then consider these mitigations before deciding next steps. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Sport
- Telegraph
Three cricket clubs suspended after person ‘hit by ball in car park'
'I got a call about two weeks ago to say that the top field is going to be closed because of an incident which is right next to the cricket pitch,' Ayris said. 'We got a call out of the blue to say cricket's been suspended until a meeting at the end of June because it's too dangerous. 'We believe this sets an incredibly worrying precedent for any team that play their matches in a public space. Cricket was suspended without any consultation with the three teams who play there and without any effort to investigate the allegation.' Oaklands Cricket Club have made a formal complaint to Danbury Parish Council. Rory Carlton, the honorary secretary of Danbury Cricket Club, said that none of those playing for or against Danbury during the game when the alleged incident occurred had any recollection of a member of the public being hit. According to the accident log, the incident occurred at 1pm, 10 minutes before Danbury's match began that day. 'Neither Danbury CC or their opposition – Burnham and South Woodham CC – witnessed any member of the public being struck by a ball during or before the match,' Carlton said. 'Following the alleged incident I was informed by Danbury Parish Council that they 'didn't realise somebody could be struck by a cricket ball and thus the risk profile had changed', which I and any reasonable person would surely find incredulous.' Ayris also said that Oaklands Cricket Club had posted a link to their petition on the Danbury Village community page on Facebook, which was deleted within hours. 'We haven't cancelled cricket' Michelle Harper, parish clerk at Danbury Parish Council, told Telegraph Sport that the suspension of cricket was only temporary. 'At the moment, the council has suspended cricket while it carries out a further health and safety review,' Parish said. 'We decided to close the top car park where the cricket is played – hopefully as a short-term measure. 'It's suspended until June 23, when the council will have a formal council meeting to decide on the mitigation that it needs to put in place so that cricket can continue. 'It's really important that people understand that we haven't cancelled cricket. All we've done is suspend cricket while we are carrying out both investigations and looking at mitigation for the health and safety of everybody who uses the field. We haven't cancelled cricket, which I think is a lot of people's fear.' Ayris told Telegraph Sport that Danbury Parish Council has persistently complained about the cost of cricket. 'Every time we have a meeting before the season and post-season, they say that cricket is a financial burden on the parish council and that we have to give them reasons to carry on,' he said. Harper added: 'The council has always supported cricket in the time I've been here.'
