New Road to host Surrey after all

By Paul Bolton

Worcestershire have switched their LV= County Championship match against Surrey, starting on May 9, back to New Road from Kidderminster.

The decision to move to the outground was taken last Friday when two-thirds of the New Road outfield was submerged in floodwater from the rivers Severn and Teme.

But the floodwater has receded quicker than Worcestershire anticipated and with no residual silt they have decided that the match should be played at the original venue.The decision was taken after head groundsman Tim Packwood spent the weekend
working on the square and outfield at New Road and after the agreement of Surrey and the England and Wales Cricket Board.

The pitch prepared for the Surrey match is on the cathedral side of the square and was not affected by last week’s flooding. The Surrey match will mark England batsman Kevin Pietersen’s seasonal debut for the visitors following his return from the IPL. It will be Pietersen’s only county appearance before the first Test against the West Indies at Lord’s on May 17.

Kidderminster has been on standby to stage first team county cricket at short notice since New Road suffered severe flooding in 2007. Last week’s floods were the first time New Road had been submerged in a season since September 2008.


Date: 07/05/2012 22:58:45 by Paul Bolton
In: Worcestershire | Today | Surrey |