Lancashire and Leicestershire to play Bob Willis Trophy match in Worcester

The fixture, which is scheduled to take place from Saturday, will nominally be a Lancashire home match

Lancashire's clash with Leicestershire in the Bob Willis Trophy will be played at New Road in Worcester.

The fixture, which is scheduled to take place from Saturday, will nominally be a Lancashire home match.

The Red Rose county do not have an outground available which meets the bio-secure protocols required by the ECB, while Emirates Old Trafford is currently being used by the England men's side for Test and limited-overs series against West Indies and Pakistan.

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Leicester's Fischer County Ground did meet all the relevant requirements, but The Cricketer understands Lancashire were unwilling to travel into a region of the country which remains in localised lockdown following a spike in Covid-19 cases.

An ECB statement read: "Leicestershire met all protocols to safely stage the match at the Fischer County Ground, however with the city of Leicester in lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a decision was taken to schedule the match at a neutral venue."

Leicestershire will retain three home fixtures, with the scheduled visit to Durham on August 15 now moved to Leicester from Emirates Riverside.

Bob Willis Trophy: Team-by-team guides

Bob Willis Trophy: Full fixture list