Nasser Hussain: Cricket purists ‘may have to suck it up’ with coronavirus affecting season

Nasser Hussain says cricket purists “may have to suck it up this summer” with coronavirus impacting the calendar.

The ECB announced on Friday that there would be no professional cricket in England until at least May 28 due to the outbreak.

The first seven rounds of the County Championship have been postponed and Hussain says fans of red-ball cricket may have to accept the white-ball game will take precedence when the campaign is finally able to begin.

“One thing the ECB will have to do is prioritise the financial decisions in all this – Test match cricket, white-ball cricket,” said Sky Sports Cricket expert and former England captain Hussain.

“Maybe the purist will just have to suck it up this summer with the County Championship. These are the decisions the ECB will have to make with their stakeholders and their partners.

“Cricketers, groundsmen, clubs, umpires – anyone involved in the professional game – would have just wanted some kind of clarity and date to work to.

“I don’t think the ECB had any choice [but to delay the season] but it was good there was a bit of clarity, even though the date is probably going to be arbitrary and probably going to be moved.”

Former Warwickshire and England batsman Jonathan Trott added: “I think it’s going to be a summer where you have to make do with what you get.

“The Hundred is a huge thing for the ECB and international cricket is going to have to be prioritised. You are going to see fixtures juggled all over the place to get as much cricket in as possible.

“You are maybe going to go as late as October if you can domestically. The county grounds have floodlights so maybe we can use those and extend the season as long as possible. “

Trott is also backing the ECB to support any counties who run into financial trouble amid the lack of games.

“The ECB are very lucky that attendances for English international cricket fund domestic sides and competitions,” he said. “We are lucky in that respect but we have to support 18 counties whereas other countries generally have six to 10 domestic sides.

“Counties are going to be under financial stress and the non-international venues might struggle more.

“The ECB have looked after counties who have come into financially difficulty well before and I think that is going to be the case now.”

(c) Sky Sports 2020: Nasser Hussain: Cricket purists ‘may have to suck it up’ with coronavirus affecting season