Ground staff working on Old Trafford's rain sodden outfield

Chief executive Jim Cumbes has revealed his frustration after the second abandonment of Lancashire's Twenty20 Cup quarter-final against Somerset.

Continued heavy rain over Manchester means the two sides will try again on Thursday morning at 1100 BST.

"I would think this was the best of the quarter-finals so it's frustrating," Cumbes told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"The amount of rain that fell I thought it was the end of the world but we'll keep our fingers crossed for tomorrow."

Originally the England and Wales Cricket Board had scheduled only one reserve day for this stage of the competition. But following discussions between the two sides and the ECB it was agreed the game could be carried over for a second time.

If you'd been looking at the ground and the state it's in 12 months ago you'd have already called it off Lancashire chief executive Jim Cumbes

"I don't think either side wanted to get into a bowl-out," said Cumbes.

"It's a bit of a lottery and because both sides have a free day the suggestion was Thursday.

"It was just a matter of clearing that with the ECB to make sure we weren't putting anybody else at a disadvantage."

Old Trafford's new drainage system was installed during the winter in an attempt to reduce the long-lasting impact following heavy rain.

The system cost around £500,000 and Cumbes feels it is already proving beneficial.

"If you'd been looking at the ground and the state it's in 12 months ago you'd have already called it off," admitted the 65-year-old.

"But the way I've seen the ground drain this year I'm quite confident, providing it doesn't rain for the next 12 hours."

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version