Clubs face World Cup player shortage

The World Cup kicks off today - not the real one, but football's version - and it is widely expected that the lure of watching England play Paraguay on Saturday will seriously hit club cricket across the country.

Many areas are reporting that clubs are struggling to raise sides as players prefer to spend the afternoon watching the match.

Tony Lister, secretary for New Buckenham CC in Norfold, said they were having difficulty raising a team and might have to cancel. "It's for the simple reason that most cricketers also like football and they want to watch England's first match," he told the Norwich Evening News.

That story was echoed in Surrey. "We are finding a shortage of players available already, losing six out of 22 for our two teams," David Smith, chairman of Effingham, told surreyonline.co.uk. "England playing at the weekend is a massive distraction for us."

Other clubs have looked to tackle the issue in a different way. South Manor Park, who play Albury in Surrey Downs League Division Two, have brought forward their start time from 2pm to 11.30am and will take an extended lunch between 2pm and 4pm to watch the match.

Meanwhile, Caterham will be recording the match and showing it as live afterwards, which their chairman said will hopefully also increase bar revenues. What chance, however, of someone not letting slip the score before then?

The problem then goes away for a while as England's next two matches are on Thursday June 15 and Tuesday June 20. Club captains will be among those hoping England top their group as that will mean their second-round game is on Sunday June 25. If England finish as runners-up, however, they will be playing at 4pm on Saturday, June 24. And if they are knocked out altogether ...