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Working closely with UK government to resume cricket: ECB

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said it is working closely with the government to ensure safe resumption of the game amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prime minister Boris Johnson on Sunday announced that the lockdown, which was enforced to stem the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, will remain in place till at least June 1 in the UK.


The ECB has already suspended all forms of professional cricket till July 1.

"We are working closely with the government to establish when and how it will be safe to resume play, and we look forward to sharing our plans as they progress," ECB said in a statement.

"ECB is aware of the government''s announcement pertaining to the next steps of this crisis and we will continue to be led by their advice," it added.

With Britain in lockdown, a three-Test series against the West Indies scheduled for June has been postponed. Pakistan is also due to visit later in a season which has now been delayed until July 1 at the earliest.

The inaugural season of ''The Hundred'', English cricket''s new 100-balls-per-side format, has also been delayed until 2021.

"While our recommendation to suspend all forms of recreational cricket remains in place at present, everyone across the sport is hoping that we will see cricket played across England and Wales this summer," the statement said.

ECB is expected to lose over 300 million pounds if the COVID-19 pandemic prevents the upcoming season from going ahead.

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Rockstar Games is facing allegations of union busting after reportedly dismissing dozens of staff believed to have been involved in a private workplace-organising chat. According to a Bloomberg report, between 30 and 40 employees across the UK and Canada were let go on 30 October, all linked to a Discord group used to discuss union issues.

The Independent Workers of Great Britain (IWGB) union said some of those affected were members, while others were attempting to organise. In a post on Bluesky, IWGB called the move “the most ruthless act of union busting in the history of the UK games industry”, saying it would fight for the workers to be reinstated.

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