Worcestershire's picturesque but sodden New Road ground was again unfit as the opening day of the Championship game with Kent was abandoned.

The club have already lost �170,000 after all four home Twenty20 matches were washed out, and sought volunteers to help clean up at New Road.

"Apart from a couple of patches on the outfield, we had made it," under-fire chief executive Mark Newton said.

Kent offered their Beckenham ground as an alternative but Worcs declined.

The wicket is as dry as you would want. It may not be the best wicket in the world. But it's dry Mark Newton

That offer was not as a reversal of fixtures but as a home game for Worcester, although Newton explained that it was not suitable for his club.

"Beckenham was offered as a choice of venue, but it wasn't as a switch," he said. "We wanted to switch this game to Canterbury, but that was impossible because of the Tour de France this weekend."

Worcs want to do their best to ensure that the televised Pro40 match with Hampshire on 13 July can go ahead as planned.

Although the club had the option of playing at nearby Kidderminster, it was felt that deploying groundstaff to cater for cricket there would not leave enough resources at New Road.

"By not playing today [Sunday], I know there will be some criticism - and I will have to accept that. I made the decision for better or worse," Newton said.

"The easy decision would have been to go to Kidderminster, forget the day-night game on Friday - and then we'd have had another couple of weeks before the Lancashire Championship match to clear things up.

We were led to believe the ground would be fit for play and clearly it isn't Paul Millman Kent CCC

"But the game on Friday is hugely important to us financially. We've already lost a huge sum of money.

"The wicket is as dry as you would want. It may not be the best wicket in the world. But it's dry, and we have a ground fit for purpose. That is a remarkable achievement."

Kent were far from happy with the course of events, however.

Chief executive Paul Millman said: "I rang the ECB and they told me there would be a pitch inspector at the ground so I agreed that we would let the due ECB process takes its course.

"I think it is reasonable for me and the squad to feel very disappointed to arrive here in expectation of playing a Championship game on a fully fit ground only to find it in this condition.

"We will let the ECB pitch inspector and the match umpires decide the course of the game.

"But I feel it only right to express our concern and disappointment that, with a ground available elsewhere in the county, our expectations for a four-day game of cricket on a decent wicket won't be fulfilled here.