Yorkshire CCC chief says sorry after showpiece Roses clash with Lancashire switched from Scarborough because of Covid-19 guidelines

The four-day game, played from July 11, was the showpiece game of Yorkshire’s season at their sea-side outground but the delaying of the government’s coronavirus lockdown restrictions threw up logistical challenges, as well as limiting capacity to 25 per cent.

The decision was taken to ensure all Yorkshire’s members could attend, while there was added concern about social distancing challenges that would have seen Scarborough’s capacity reduced to well below 2,000.

“Firstly we are hugely disappointed to have to make this decision as we truly believed that this fixture would be unaffected,” Arthur said.

“We were anticipating over 6,000 spectators each day for what would be a fantastic advert for county cricket. Following the extension of the government’s roadmap, we had hoped that social distancing guidelines would have been eased as the data continued to show encouraging signs.

“After exploring every possible avenue, we had to ensure that as many Members as possible could attend the match. Staging the match at Scarborough under the current restrictions would leave many of our Members disappointed. Therefore, we believe that the fairest and most pragmatic decision was to host the match at a venue that has satisfied safety requirements and can comfortably cater for Yorkshire Members.

“We are extremely sorry to those who now have the added complications around accommodation, but we wanted to ensure that as many Members could attend as possible.”