For the first two days of the Bob Willis Trophy, spectators will be allowed to appear for first-class cricket on Saturday and Sunday.
Surrey County Club will lock horns with Middlesex at the Kia Oval, while Warwickshire will face Northamptonshire in Edgbaston. The ECB will allow the spectators to enter the stadium and watch both clashes.
Both the fixtures will be a part of the second phase of UK government pilot events. Each ground will be allowed to host up to 2,500 fans following trials at pre-season matches.
Following that a thousand fans were permitted at The Oval for Surrey’s friendly against Middlesex on Sunday and Monday. And the same number of spectators will be allowed at Edgbaston for Warwickshire’s match against Worcestershire on Tuesday.
“The two cricket pilots were among a small number of sporting events announced by the Government for testing the safe return of spectators, with a view to reopening venues for sports fans, with social distancing measures in place, from October 2020,” the England and Cricket Board (ECB) said in an official statement.
Neil Snowball, ECB Managing Director of County Cricket, said: “We’re all excited about the start of the county cricket season, and of course we all miss not being able to go and watch as we normally would. These two pilots are an important step in testing the Government guidance and ensuring we can safely open our grounds again.”
The Bob Willis Trophy, which is happening on August 1 will grasp the first-class status, but is a distinct competition from the County Championship and will include three regionalised groups, comprising of six counties per group.
Fans allowed to attend the first-class game in England for the first time since March
