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Worcestershire’s first-day blank against Nottinghamshire in the Vitality County Championship marked the end of the county’s comeback to cricket at Visit Worcestershire New Road.
Members and supporters were buzzing with excitement to see Worcestershire back at home after they were forced to move their opening two home games from Durham to Kidderminster.
A wet area on the bowlers run-up at the New Road End destroyed dreams of play returning to their headquarters after eight floods inundated the ground throughout the winter.
Before midday, umpires Nigel Llong and Surendiran Shanmugam decided against playing, and a big infrared warmer was erected over the troubled region because Wednesday’s 15 hours of rain had left the ground soggy.
The grounds crew put in a lot of effort to make sure the game could proceed, even excavating turf chunks that were heated with diesel in the groundsman’s shed in order to dry them up.
However, around 1:30 pm, the umpires made the decision to call off the game for the day, saying over the public address system “that the outfield was way too wet.”
The washout deepens the uncertainty surrounding New Road’s future, with Ashley Giles, Worcestershire’s chief executive, admitting earlier this season that the club was actively exploring the possibility of a permanent move to a new home.
“I don’t think we can carry on like this,” Giles told BBC Hereford and Worcester in April. “It’s costing us a lot of money. The ground is here to stage cricket, to be a venue for entertainment and hospitality. But conditions are seemingly getting worse.”