Cricket called off in Danbury after man says he was hit by a ball

'Cricket has been here for centuries, now we can't play'

30 minutes ago Share Save Matt Knight BBC News, Essex Share Save

Matt Knight/BBC Rory Carlton is unable to play cricket after the sport was suspended

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 ball. The 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 matches. The 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."

Matt Knight/BBC Signs have been put up around the cricket pitch warning the sport is suspended

Danbury Parish Council has organised a meeting for residents to discuss the future of cricket in the village on 19 June. Councillor 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.

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