County waiting to discover their 2009 fixtures

9:00am Monday 10th November 2008

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WORCESTERSHIRE are still awaiting news of who they will face on their return to LV County Championship Division One after the release of the fixtures was delayed.

With Sri Lanka set to officially withdraw from the spring tour to England and the West Indies on stand-by to fill the void, the England and Wales Cricket Board are delaying the release of the domestic schedule.

Many of the Sri Lankan players have signed contracts with the highly lucrative Indian Premier League, which clashes with the proposed tour, and their board have been reportedly in talks with the Board of Control for Cricket in India to secure a $70million bail-out for the England tour.

But while the ECB await news of who, if any country, will tour in the early part of 2009, they cannot confirm the domestic calendar. With the redevelopment of New Road, including the building of the new Graeme Hick Pavilion, Steve Rhodes’ men are likely to play their first couple of games of the 2009 season away from home.