Lancashire pencil in Cumbria home game
LANCASHIRE will play a Specsavers County Champions home match in Cumbria this summer.
The Red Rose have chosen Sedbergh School, which is not too far from Yorkshire, to host their Division Two game with Durham in June.
It is the first time the county have used a new venue for a home first-class match since playing at Lytham St Anne’s Church Road in 1985.
The move is a snub for Lancashire’s traditional trio of outgrounds - Liverpool, Southport and Blackpool - and hasn’t been too warmly received by some of the Red Rose fans.
But the club believes it is an ideal chance to forge stronger links with Cumbria, a region they have already tapped into in recent years to discover Jordan Clark and Liam Livingstone.
Lancashire aren’t able to use Emirates Old Trafford for a chunk of the summer because it will be taken over by the ICC for the World Cup. It means the Red Rose players aren’t even allowed to train at the ground during the tournament. Old Trafford also hosts an Ashes Test in September. The club had already announced one Championship match at Aigburth - against Leicestershire at the start of June - but hadn’t confirmed a venue for the Durham game, although it was thought that would go to Southport, who in recent years has been the club’s first choice and attracts a big crowd. However, concerns over the wicket at Trafalgar Road, where a second team game had to be abandoned last year because of the pitch, has forced them to look elsewhere.
The club have, however, said they are ‘looking at the prospect’ of hosting first-team cricket at Southport from 2020 onwards and will continue to ‘work closely together over the next 12 months.’
Paul Allott, Lancashire’s director of cricket, said: “We’re really looking forward to taking the Durham fixture to Sedbergh School, which is regarded as one of the most picturesque grounds in the UK.
“The quality of their facilities and infrastructure is excellent and we’ve all been very impressed by the performance and record of their dedicated grounds team that Matt Merchant, the club’s head groundsman, will work with throughout the summer.
“The relationship between Cumbria and Lancashire Cricket has really grown over the last 12 months and it is a link-up we will continue to develop in the future.
“We believe that playing this fixture will help us to continue to grow the game in this particular region.
“With the considerable demands on Emirates Old Trafford as an ICC Cricket World Cup and Ashes venue this summer we thought it was a great opportunity to take a game there and we hope that Lancashire Members and supporters further afield from Emirates Old Trafford, including visiting fans from Durham, will have the opportunity to attend what promises to be a fantastic four-day fixture.”
We believe that playing this fixture will help us to continue to grow the game in this particular region Paul Allott