British PM Boris Johnson terms the cricket ball a natural vector of disease

Describing the ball as "a natural vector of disease", British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday ruled out an imminent return of recreational cricket but the upcoming England-West Indies bilateral series is not under threat.

Responding to a question from Conservative MP Greg Clark in the House of Commons, Johnson said that it was too soon to lift current restrictions preventing the return of recreational cricket.

His remarks will however have no bearing on England's upcoming Test series against West Indies, which is due to start on July 8, as it is elite cricket.

Johnson said: "The problem with cricket as everybody understands (is) that the ball is a natural vector of disease, potentially at any rate. We've been round it many times with our scientific friends.
 

"At the moment, we're still working on ways to make cricket more Covid-secure but we can't change the guidance yet."

Johnson announced a raft of measures to relax the lockdown in England, but recreational cricket was not one of them, dealing a blow to the country's non-professional leagues.

Clark said half of summer cricket has been lost and asked the PM if the game could be resumed now.

England are laying the West Indies in a three-match Test series from July 8.

The England and Wales County Board has been discussing with the government the resumption of the game at the amateur level.