Middlesex-Gloucestershire Royal London Cup match called off due to Covid-19

The Royal London Cup match between Middlesex and Gloucestershire at Radlett has been called off due to a Covid-19 case in the Gloucestershire squad, the ECB has confirmed.

Members of the Gloucestershire squad are in solation, which is the reason this match will not go ahead as planned. According to the playing conditions, Group A will therefore be decided on an  'average points per completed match' basis.

Middlesex's Chief Executive, Andrew Cornish, in an official release, said, "Middlesex Cricket is extremely disappointed to hear of the cancellation of this fixture, which has a massive impact on our hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages of the Royal London Cup."

"Whilst we have every sympathy with Gloucestershire's situation, as we all endeavour to handle the impact of Covid on our playing groups, as a Club Middlesex have taken every possible step to mitigate any Covid risk to our players and to hear that our opponents tomorrow are only able to field one player not in isolation is extremely disappointing," he added.

He further commented, "In discussions with the ECB we have made every effort to get tomorrow's game on, to no avail, and to have our campaign impacted in this way is saddening. We will continue to discuss this situation with the ECB in the hope of a more satisfactory resolution for Middlesex Cricket."

"Our thanks go to all Middlesex members and supporters who were due to attend the fixture who will sadly miss out on the opportunity to watch us in action. It's a real shame that with so little cricket to enjoy this summer in person, you are now unable to do so tomorrow, in what promised to be a thrilling encounter," he added.

This is not the first time English domestic cricket has been affected by a coronavirus outbreak. A county match between Essex and Derbyshire was cancelled midway while Kent had to pick their second XI after a member of the first team tested positive.