The cricket season may have been suspended, but one of Fenland’s cricket clubs believes the worst is yet to come.

Nathan Brennan, chairman of Chatteris Cricket Club, expects the 2020 campaign to be cancelled altogether due to the coronavirus pandemic, with no start date confirmed after the ECB suspended all cricket with immediate effect last month.

Brennan, who is also a groundsman at the club, took over as chairman from Grant Osbourn in December last year and has also played during his time at the Fullers Cricket Ground.

“I’ve been on the committee for over 10 years, been groundsman for the last two or three seasons and played for them as well, so it’s an opportunity,” he said.

“It wasn’t something I wanted to do straight away, but I love the club and that’s why I decided to go for it.

“We’re still hoping for some cricket, but we’re not going to hold our breath.

“The best we can do is write this season off and say we won’t get any cricket down there this season. That’s the worst-case scenario. Anything on top of that is going to be a bonus.”

The club boasts two Saturday sides who play in the Cambridgeshire Senior League and one Sunday team, as well as a host of junior teams, with the newly-formed under 10s/11s squad supposed to launch this summer.

One of Brennan’s key aims was to develop the youth system, but with those plans put on hold, he has another target in mind.

“One of my main points when I took over as chairman was to look after the youth and keep them coming through,” he said.

“For them to miss a season, they may lose interest so quickly. They had such a good pre-season and good numbers were turning up for the under 10s/11s; it was looking really promising.

“We need to keep a minimum of three youth sides coming through every summer.

“We can’t coach or train at the minute. People have said what if two of us can go and have a net, but it’s not worth the hassle to even risk it.

“We’re trying to keep them active by giving them all activities to do and send them into the WhatsApp groups and the coaches pages, just to keep them interested.

“All we’re doing is preparing the wicket and the field as if we’re going to play on it so it’s ready as and when we need it.”