ECB allows neutral venues to counter weather

The ECB has responded to the dreadful weather which has impacted seriously on the county programme by amending its rules to allow matches to be switched to neutral venues when suitable pitches cannot be found in the host county.

Rule 40 of the first-class playing regulations was amended at an ECB board meeting on Tuesday morning and now states that "a neutral venue preferably within the region of the originally scheduled match may be considered" where grounds scheduled to stage games are rendered unusable by the weather.

The rules also state that "in no circumstances will it be permissible for the match to be re-scheduled at a venue normally or occasionally used as a home venue by the scheduled away county".