At a time when we should be approaching the start of a new cricket season, I am sure, like me, many of you have begun to realise the full impact that a severely delayed start will have on us all.

Many players will have been working on individual games at indoor nets during the winter and will have focused in on what you wanted to do better on the pitch this year, I know many of our young prospects and the burgeoning women’s section (on the back of their winter nets and successful indoor matches) will have geared themselves up for another season of progression and even our more laid-back members would normally be unearthing bags and bats from lofts and garages at this point, preparing to give it ‘one more season’ for the umpteenth time.

What makes it all the more frustrating is that everything we need is at our fingertips, our ever-improving pavilion stands desolate for now, work on a spanking new Balustrade balcony left in limbo, and the ground, being expertly maintained by our ‘key worker’, looks immaculate despite a soaking winter.

Obviously there is the much bigger picture of what is going on around the world, but this would normally be a time for reuniting with Attenborough friends, young and older, and for plenty like me that aspect is at least as big a miss as the chance to chip one up to mid-off third ball of the new season.

Fortunately, we are blessed with great infrastructure of people at the club to ensure that, when we get the go-ahead, we will be able to get up and running as soon as possible and the disruption to the long-term future of the club will be as minimal as possible provided we get the full backing of all our members. It is at times like these when we realise the function of club fundraisers isn’t just to continually improve facilities or make sure we can afford a couple of high-class professional players, it’s also for times of emergencies like this, for times when bad weather can hit us, times when we may lose all or part of an income for a season, those well-earned funds provided by the junior section via the hard-working Friday-night staff.

The committee and people that run these fundraisers and different areas of the club need our support and are just some of the characters we will miss over the next few weeks or months. While, as players, we may well be in touch with our immediate friends and teammates via various methods of technology, there are many of our unsung heroes that will be just as eagerly chomping at the bit to get back into action.

Speaking as a captain; those volunteers, tea ladies, ground/bar staff, slushie makers, umpires, scorers, helpful parents, keen supporters, photographers and vice presidents putting money behind the bar, are at least as vital to the club, and often less moody, than any opening bowler. To all of them, if to some extent on the periphery of Attenborough communications, on behalf of the players – please stay safe and we hope to see you all soon.

Sam Randall