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| |  Tuesday, 29 May, 2001, 17:39 GMT 18:39 UK Lancashire anger at Test ticket sales  Nick Knight heads for net practice at Old Trafford The England squad have begun preparations for the second Test against Pakistan against a background of criticism over their lack of involvement in promoting the game. Lancashire are still smarting from the England and Wales Cricket Board's decision not to stage one of the five Ashes Tests against Australia at Old Trafford. And chief executive Jim Cumbes believes members of the England team could have done more to help bump up ticket sales. Only 32,000 of the 76,000 seats available for the first four days of the game have been sold. Further concerns are being expressed over potential crowd trouble at the game following racial violence in Oldham, 10 miles away. Cumbes said he would have liked more players to follow the lead of Dominic Cork, who visisted a school last week. "We asked for support to promote the game to the community because we knew it was going to be difficult," said Cumbes.
"It would have been nice to have had two or three others, or the captain, who is injured and unavailable to play." But an England and Wales Cricket Board spokesman rejected Cumbes' claims as unfair. "I think this stems from the fact that Dominic Cork was originally scheduled to go on the Wednesday, but unfortunately he couldn't at the last minute because of another conflicting event," the spokesman said. "Unfortunately, pretty much all England players were involved in the Benson & Hedges quarter-finals that day. It was very last minute and I don't think anyone else was available. "But Cork went on the Thursday. "It is a little bit unfair. We have supplied someone, so it is a bit hard to criticise the England players." 'English elite' Lancashire have been marketing the Test among local Asian communities and in Yorkshire and the Midlands, but have had only limited success. Cumbes said: "The West Indian and Asian communities feel they are not welcome on English Test grounds. "There is a feeling that it is only the English elite that go there and we're trying to say that isn't the case. "If you look at the Lancashire membership it's basically English, and there are no Asian cricketers in the Lancashire team, yet there must be Asian cricketers around. 'Personal opinion' "I sometimes feel there's a barrier there and we're trying to break that down in this match, which is a bit of a template for the future." Cumbes' comments come at a sensitive time with riots in Oldham, which lies only 10 miles away, over the weekend. The ECB spokesman played down the remarks. "It's his personal opinion," he said. "I can only hark back to the World Cup two years ago, when there were thousands of Asian supporters in English colours in the grounds. "We do work hard to attract Asian supporters - indeed those from all sections of society." England skipper Alec Stewart said: "We can't do much more - we have won four series on the trot." and you can't force people through the gates | |
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