'If Upton and Bewdley can be protected why not the County cricket ground?'

I FEEL saddened that there seems to be a general acceptance that the iconic Worcestershire county cricket ground will be abandoned due to it repeatedly flooding.

When people think of Worcester, they think of the cathedral, Lea & Perrins sauce and of course the cricket ground.

I travel all around the country giving presentations about flooding and when I talk about Worcester the audience always mentions the cricket ground.

It has been given the accolade of the most beautiful ground in the country which of course it is — the views from there on a summer’s day are breathtaking!

Dicky Bird, the now-retired and much-revered umpire, loved the County ground and indeed visited it as part of a Songs of Praise Special devoted to him as one of his ‘favourite places to be’.

I sincerely hope that the board will be undertaking a feasibility study to see if building a flood alleviation scheme for the ground is a viable option.

Of course, it will be expensive and technically challenging due to the complexities of the drainage and ground water flooding issues.

But if Upton and Bewdley can be successfully protected why not the County cricket ground?

The cost benefit of moving and building a new facility and the huge commercial loss to central Worcester when the ground is no longer there should certainly be taken into consideration.

If a feasibility study does show that protecting the ground is either unviable or too expensive then at least the many people who are upset at the thought of the loss of ‘Worcester’s home of cricket’ will be satisfied that the board haven’t just thrown in the towel and walked away!