Worcestershire face up to losses

Worcestershire are bracing themselves for financial losses of up to £150,000 after severe flooding forced them to abandon hopes of playing any of their four home Twenty20 matches at New Road.

Wednesday's game with Warwickshire was called off after several feet of water engulfed the ground when the River Severn bursting its banks, and the Royals are hoping to play the three remaining fixtures at different venues in the county.

But that will not compensate for losses incurred from reduced ticket revenue at a ground with a smaller capacity and a lack of corporate hospitality, catering and bar sales, and chief executive Mark Newton told PA Sport: "This is a very hard blow to take, a devastating situation."

He added: "At the moment the priority is to try to get the home games played so we can have the opportunity to put some points on the board. We are determined to do that.

"But financially, losing the Warwickshire game will cost us between £60,000 and £70,000 and the loss from not having the four home games at New Road could be as much as £150,000.

"In 2006 the ticket revenue alone from the Twenty20 games was £98,000 and we were going to pass the £100,000 this year. Then you have all the corporate hospitality, bar revenue etc that will be lost.

"It will not affect the players' budget for the future as we have always used the monies distributed by the ECB to fund that so it won't be affected.

"But resources will be stretched and some projects will have to be put on hold. It is bound to have an impact somewhere down the line."