The latest briefing on the Covid-19 pandemic by British prime minister Boris Johnson has offered tentative hope that the English cricketing summer might not be as greatly affected as first thought.

There are fears that the entirety of England’s domestic and international season might be wiped out by precautions taken to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, and while that remains a possibility, Johnson’s statement that “we can turn the tide within the next 12 weeks” suggests some completion of the schedule may be possible.

Asked by Beth Rigby of Sky News, “Are you telling people that by the summer they might be able to go back to normal life?” Johnson didn’t rule it out.

“I am very confident that we’ll get this thing done. I’m very confident that we’ll beat coronavirus. I think we can turn the tide in 12 weeks.”

A 12-week timeframe would affect the T20 Blast, set to begin on May 31, in under 11 weeks, but wouldn’t cover the whole tournament, while the ECB will be greatly pleased that The Hundred might be unaffected, with the new competition set to begin on July 17, 17 weeks from today.

However, Johnson also touted caution. “I cannot stand here and tell you by the end of June we will be on a downward slope.”