Yorkshire CCC hit for six reports over ‘bio-secure’ Headingley plan

The Daily Telegraph reported that England are planning to play all their six Tests, six one-day internationals and six T20 internationals at Headingley, Old Trafford and the Ageas Bowl in an effort to salvage as much of their schedule as possible.

The report stated that those venues had been selected because they all have on-site hotels and training facilities and could provide “bio-secure” environments for games behind closed doors.

But Yorkshire say that it is news to them and that they have had no conversations with the England and Wales Cricket Board concerning what would be a radical change to their own fixture programme.

“The first I heard about it was when our communications manager (Treve Whitford) drew it to my attention,” said the club’s chief executive, Mark Arthur. “I don’t know anything about it at all.”

Arthur is closely involved in discussions concerning the new county programme, with the ECB expected to announce plans for a revised schedule later this week.

England are set to play internationals at 10 grounds this year, the others being Lord’s, The Oval, Trent Bridge, Edgbaston, Durham, Cardiff and Bristol.

England have three Tests against West Indies and three against Pakistan, plus three T20s against Australia, with the deciding match at Headingley having been scheduled for July 7.

Headingley was also scheduled to stage the first of a three-match T20 series against Pakistan on August 29, with the ground having no Test or ODI this year due to the fluctuations of the international rota. England also play three ODIs against Australia and three against Ireland.

Although Headingley has an on-site hotel, it possesses just 36 bedrooms. That could still present a challenge in terms of accommodating players, match officials and all those involved in staging England matches.