Floods cause Derby to switch venues

Derbyshire's preparations for the 2006 county season have hit a damp patch. Their opening fixture, against Surrey starting on April 19, will now be played at The Oval ... because the County Ground in Derby is under water.

"We have had exceptionally wet weather in Derby for the last six weeks," explained the chief executive, Tom Sears. "We did look at other possibilities in the area, but everywhere in the county is in the same boat."

The return fixture, starting on Wednesday, September 20, will now be played in Derby - weather-permitting, of course. "We are desperate to play our opening fixture of the season, and the best chance we have of doing that is to play at The Brit Oval and subsequently the return fixture at Derby at the end of the season."

Paul Sheldon, chief executive at Surrey, added: "We have been happy to co-operate with Derbyshire to ensure the game has the highest chance of going ahead. The short notice will give our staff some logistical challenges, and we are committed to a hasty communication process to ensure members and spectators are made aware of the changes."

The Oval groundstaff, led by Bill Gordon, along with other key staff, will now work over the Easter weekend to prepare the wicket and venue for April 19. The first scheduled competitive game was originally against Sussex in the C&G Trophy on April 30.

"We've had an excellent pre-season and the squad is raring to go," said Surrey's coach, Alan Butcher. "We had fully prepared to go to Derbyshire, but with all of us so keen to play we want to give ourselves the best of opportunity of gaining as many points as possible in our bid to regain Division One status."