Rain stalls Worcestershire

New Road was hit by early morning rain on Tuesday

Worcestershire were forced to wait a little longer for their return to New Road action after an early-morning shower delayed the start of their friendly against Warwickshire.

Play in the one-day game was put back from 11am to 12pm, and the game reduced to 40 overs-a-side, to allow groundstaff time to prepare the pitch. The hosts won the toss and chose to bowl.

Worcestershire have not played at their home ground since last June after severe flooding forced them to move games away from New Road in the second half of the season. The overall cost to the county was more than £1million in lost revenue.

Their first competitive match at Worcester this season is the LV County Championship Division Two clash with Leicestershire which starts on April 23.

Elsewhere, the start of County Champions Sussex’s second domestic one-day friendly against Glamorgan at Hove was also put back due to rain.

The game was reduced to 40 overs a side with a revised start time of 1pm.

Sussex won Monday’s encounter between the sides by 17 runs.