Lancashire pilot event postponed

Lancashire’s T20 Blast match against Durham on September 18 had initially been identified as a potential pilot for the return of crowds to domestic cricket

After the government's announcement on Wednesday evening regarding a review of pilot events for the return of spectators to sporting venues, Lancashire have confirmed that one such event scheduled for Emirates Old Trafford will not now go ahead in front of fans.

Lancashire’s T20 Blast match against Durham on September 18 had initially been identified as a potential pilot for the return of crowds to domestic cricket.

However, the decision to play the game behind closed doors comes after the government reduced the number of people that are able to attend sporting pilot events to 1,000 in light of the increase in the number of positive coronavirus cases.

The news of yet another postponed pilot comes after Yorkshire, too, decided to abandon a reduced capacity crowd for their game against Durham scheduled for September 16. That game will now also go ahead behind closed doors.

So far this season, all international and county matches have been played behind closed doors, with the only exception at Surrey, where two pilots have been successfully staged.

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