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THE disturbing prospect of the six Test-match grounds refusing to stage England matches is coming closer to reality because of a stalemate which threatens to ruin a hugely significant summer for the game.

The dispute between the ground authorities at Lord's, the Oval, Old Trafford, Edgbaston, Trent Bridge and Headingley and the England and Wales Cricket Board is no closer to being solved as the deadline for a settlement approaches on Wednesday.

No staging agreement has been signed ahead of the four-match series against New Zealand, which begins in July. The alternative would be to try to stage Tests at other grouds, like Chester-le-Street and Chelmsford, at short notice.

Jim Cumbes, the chief executive of Lancashire, articulated the views of the Test-ground consortium which has been formed to seek a larger share of Test receipts from the ECB when he said: ``We're now in danger of not staging Tests this summer. None of us have wanted it to get this far, but it seems the only way we can get the ECB round a table is to make the ultimate threat. Confrontation is inevitable.''

What particularly pains the Test consortium is that an ideal opportunity to thrash out the problem should come on Wednesday when the first-class forum hold their spring meeting at Lord's. That is why the end of March was given as a deadline for the discussions to bear fruit but the matter is not even on the agenda.

The grounds receive 25 per cent of ticket sales for staging Tests and the ECB distribute the rest among the remaining counties. And at a time when the World Cup has failed to reach the expected sponsorship levels, the smaller clubs are in no mood to let any of their usual England revenue escape them.

``We're very resolute about what's required because we simply can't run our grounds on the current revenue we receive from the ECB,'' said Cumbes. ``This is going to get very tough. At Lancashire, for example, we can't afford to rebuild one of our stands and I'm sitting here at Old Trafford looking at a large gap where a stand should be. We'll have temporary seating for the World Cup, but what happens after that?''

Cumbes denies that the consortium are being greedy and is insistent that the Test grounds need a bigger slice of the England cake for the health of the game as a whole. ``County cricket relies totally on Test revenue,'' he said.

``The smaller grounds may or may not have some sympathy with our position, but I don't think they're totally aware of the details of our argument. We don't want more money so that we can sign all the best players. We want it to improve facilities because the customer demands value for money.

``There was a time when cricket grounds offered much better conditions to watch the game than football, but that's all changed. We do need to spend money. The MCC have spent £25 million on Lord's and it's all come from their own pockets.''

ECB spokesman Richard Peel insisted that the board are keen to resolve the issue as soon as possible. ``I like to think we're much closer to an agreement. Further talks will take place,'' he said.

On Wednesday, however, representatives of the first-class counties and MCC will instead talk about the probability of yet another limited-overs competition being introduced in 2000 or 2001, of 25 overs in an attempt to attract young people to the game. They will also hear a report from the Trangmar committee over contracts for England players.