County facing early opening (From Worcester News)

County facing early opening

10:24am Tuesday 29th November 2011 in WCCC

WORCESTERSHIRE will be part of the earliest ever start to a first-class cricket season when they figure in one of seven LV= County Championship fixtures beginning on April 5 next year.

Steve Rhodes’ men open their Division One campaign with a trip to Trent Bridge to tackle Nottinghamshire, the 2010 winners, as the start of the Championship season creeps forward yet again.

It began on April 9 in 2010 and on April 8 last term.

The County open their Friends Life t20 season on June 15 with a mouth-watering trip to Edgbaston to face neigh-bours Warwickshire in a floodlit clash.

The Clydesdale Bank 40 competition is interspersed between Championship fixtures and Worcestershire get their one-day campaign under way with a visit from Holland on May 7.

Worcestershire complete the season with two of their final three four-day games on home soil as they entertain Middlesex (August 28) and Warwickshire (September 4), before heading to Taunton for the climax against Somer-set (September 11).

Meanwhile, there will be a chance for cricket lovers to catch a glimpse of the touring South African team when they tackle Worcestershire in a two-day New Road match beginning on July 27.

APRIL

5 Nottinghamshire Trent Bridge LVCC 1

13 Oxford MCCU The Parks UNI

19 Surrey The Kia Oval LVCC 1

26 Nottinghamshire New Road LVCC 1

MAY

3 Middlesex Lord’s LVCC 1

7 Holland New Road CB40

9 Surrey New Road LVCC 1

13 Essex Chelmsford CB40

16 Sussex New Road LVCC 1

27 Middlesex New Road CB40

30 Somerset New Road LVCC 1

JUNE

5 Lancashire Old Trafford CB40

8 Holland TBC CB40

10 Gloucestershire New Road CB40

15 Warwickshire Edgbaston T20 (F)

17 Gloucestershire New Road T20

20 Glamorgan TBC T20

22 Warwickshire New Road T20

23 N’hamptonshire Northampton T20

29 Glamorgan New Road T20

JULY

1 Somerset Taunton T20

5 Gloucestershire Bristol T20

6 N’hamptonshire New Road T20

8 Somerset New Road T20

10 Durham New Road LVCC 1

14 Leicestershire Grace Road CB40

17 Gloucestershire Cheltenham CB40

18 Lancashire Old Trafford LVCC 1

27 South Africa New Road (TOUR)

29 Essex New Road CB40

AUGUST

1 Sussex Hove LVCC 1

5 Middlesex Uxbridge CB40

8 Warwickshire Edgbaston LVCC 1

15 Lancashire New Road LVCC 1

19 Leicestershire New Road CB40

21 Durham Emirates LVCC 1

27 Lancashire New Road CB40

28 Middlesex New Road LVCC 1

SEPTEMBER

4 Warwickshire New Road LVCC 1

11 Somerset Taunton LVCC 1