Lancashire had sent a request to Southampton to switch their AXA League fixture against Hampshire from the day after the NatWest Trophy final to the following night. But Lancashire's NatWest semi final opponents have rejected that request.
``It's disappointing because we are just trying to get in new fans,'' said Lancashire's chief executive Jim Cumbes. ``Now we will have to play on a Monday afternoon with a one o'clock start.''
Lancashire had hoped to build on the huge success of the last floodlit game at Old Trafford, when they attracted almost 9,000 for the game against Worcestershire despite poor weather. Now they will have to wait until next season.
Meanwhile in the rain-affected championship match against Leicestershire, Lancashire's seamers did well to reduce their opponents to 218-7 when play finally got underway after lunch on the second day. But it could have been even better for Lancashire if they had held their chances. Wasim Akram claimed two early wickets, and Peter Martin and Glen Chapple one each, to leave Leicestershire on 49-4. Then Aftab Habib edged Chapple to third slip, where Mike Watkinson could not hold a difficult low chance.
Habib went on to 56 before Paddy McKeown took a stunning one handed catch at cover. But by then Watkinson had missed a second, much easier, chance offered by Paul Nixon off Wasim on 21. Nixon reached an unbeaten 42 before accepting the umpires' offer of bad light with 14 overs left in the day.
Wasim and Martin each ended with three wickets with Ian Austin, who decided to play despite his knee injury, after an extra day off, unlucky not to get a reward.
But Lancashire badly missed the injured Neil Fairbrother and rested Mike Atherton, which left Andy Flintoff as the only one of their regular slips in the team. Watkinson, Martin, Austin, Graham Lloyd and John Crawley all took their turns to help out, but Lancashire must hope that Watkinson's misses don't prove too costly.