Surrey verteran Gareth Batty fears the coronavirus crisis could mean he has already played his last game of cricket.
The 42-year-old is one of six Surrey players currently in self-isolation as a precautionary measure against Covid-19.
Getty Images – Getty
On Wednesday, the England and Wales Cricket Board announced the suspension of all recreational cricket until further notice – and it seems unlikely that the domestic season will begin before June at the very earliest.
While Batty stresses that the restrictions on society are absolutely right, he worries about his ability to keep up with the levels of younger players and continue playing once sport resumes.
“It’s a very difficult time, obviously for everybody out there, but certainly for professional sports people,” the former England spinner told the Cricket Collective on talkSPORT 2.
“We’re in a very unique position – your body is your currency and if you can’t do the right things and put the good things into it, you feel like you’re just missing a trick.
“Most of the time, a player can go out and do something about it. They can go out and get fitter or practice more. Your career is in your hands.
“At this moment in time, it is not. It has been taken away. And rightly so.
“I might never play cricket again. I’ll be brutally honest, I’m nowhere, I don’t know what to do.”
Similarly to football, it is feared that while the bigger clubs have the funds to survive, the smaller ones may not be able to withstand the financial damage of the coronavirus pandemic.
Getty Images – Getty
County cricket looks set to take a huge hit – and Batty insists the sporting community must work to ensure that every club survives.
“We’ve all got to pull together. The ECB will be under huge strain. Everybody within the cricket community, we’ve got to fund-raise and make sure that we look after our game.
He added: “It means rolling sleeves up and painting the sight screens.”
Listen to the full Gareth Batty interview on the Cricket Collective show with Jarrod Kimber and Steve Harmison below…