India vs England 5th Test: Lancashire suffers ‘multimillion pound' losses after match cancellation

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Lancashire will require the help from England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to cope with the cancellation of the Old Trafford Test as they are facing 'multimillion-pound' losses, according to their chief executive, Daniel Gidney.

The BCCI and ECB held several rounds of discussion to find a way to play the Test match in Manchester, however, the outbreak of COVID-19 in the Indian team contingent forced the decision of calling off the game.

Lancashire Cricket has also promised hospitality buyers (including hotel guests) and those who have purchased tickets for the fifth and final Test Match will be automatically refunded the full face value of their tickets or hospitality package only.

Asked if the club were "in a position to wear" the losses, Gidney, as per espncricinfo.com replied, "no".

"These are unprecedented circumstances," Gidney said. "We're in mitigation mode at this point. We will need to work through this with the ECB."

"How big are our losses? We're talking about significant sums here. We're talking over seven figures. It's multimillions of pounds. It's very challenging. We will need to work with the ECB and others to support us through this."

In the statement released by Lancashire Cricket, Daniel Gidney unreservedly apologised to the ticket holders. "We'd like to unreservedly apologise to ticket holders and all those that have or are due to travel to Emirates Old Trafford. A full refund will be issued, but we appreciate for many supporters, attending this Test match is more than just the monetary worth. After the last 18 months we've all experienced through the pandemic, it's a fixture cricket fans in the North West have looked forward to for the best part of 18 months," he said.

Currently, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has offered to England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) a rescheduling of the cancelled 5th Test match which was scheduled to be played at Manchester from Friday.

"In lieu of the strong relationship between BCCI and ECB, the BCCI has offered to ECB a rescheduling of the cancelled Test match. Both the Boards will work towards finding a window to reschedule this Test match," a statement released by the BCCI read.