Rotherham United are disappointed to confirm that the charity cricket game organised by John Breckin set to take place this summer in aid of the Rotherham Hospice has been cancelled due to the recent announcement from the Government regarding the continuation of coronavirus restrictions.
Following extensive deliberation between Breck and his committee, the difficult decision has been made to cancel the game planned for Friday 2nd July having taken into consideration the implications of the restrictions that will now remain in place until at least 19th July.
Paul Warne, his staff and players were set to be involved in the match at Wickersley Cricket Club in aid of the local hospice which has proven a hit amongst supporters and has, in turn, raised a fantastic amount of money for the Broom-based charity.
Speaking to www.themillers.co.uk after confirming that the event will no longer go ahead, a disappointed Breck explained the rationale behind the decision.
“We are absolutely gutted that we won’t be able to come together at Wickersley CC for what promised to be a great evening for a fantastic cause,” he said.
“We said from the start that this event would hinge on the most recent update from the Government and what restrictions would or wouldn’t be in place, and whilst we were hopeful that we would be able to go ahead, we always knew it was a possibility that it might not."
“In previous years, the plot of land at Wickersley CC has been packed to the rafters with the boundaries full of people chatting and drinking which is how it should be, so putting this event on and not being able to accommodate people as we would normally just wasn’t an option.
“There was of course potential to look at holding the event with a significantly reduced capacity but that isn’t what this is about – it is about a community coming together for the Rotherham Hospice. We absolutely did not want to be in a position whereby we were having to turn people away who wanted to attend.
“I want to take this opportunity to thank the various sponsors and people around the town who were quick to contact me offering their support when we first announced our plans to host the cricket game. The response is something that we are very lucky to have come to expect from the people of Rotherham, who have been so incredibly supportive of our efforts to help the Rotherham Hospice.”