Up to 2,500 fans to attend two Bob Willis Trophy games as phased return of crowds continues

Up to 2,500 spectators per day will be able to attend the first two days of this weekend's Bob Willis Trophy games at the Kia Oval and Edgbaston.

Both grounds were selected to host pilot events, with 1,000 spectators taking in Surrey's friendly against Middlesex on Sunday and the same number welcome at Warwickshire vs Worcestershire on Tuesday.

Over double that will then be able to attend the Bob Willis Trophy matches between Surrey and Middlesex and Warwickshire and Northamptonshire on Saturday and Sunday as the domestic season begins in earnest.

The Bob Willis Trophy, in which the 18 first-class counties have been split into three regional groups of six, is a red-ball tournament being played in place of the County Championship for one season only.

Neil Snowball, the ECB's managing director of county cricket, said: "We're all excited about the start of the county cricket season, and of course we all miss not being able to go and watch as we normally would.

"These two pilots are an important step in testing the government guidance and ensuring we can safely open our grounds again."

The cricket pilots were among a small number of sporting events announced by the government for testing the safe return of spectators, with a view to reopening venues for sports fans, with social distancing measures in place, from October.

No fans have been allowed in to England's bio-secure Test series against West Indies and that looks set to be the case for the remainder of the international summer, which takes in tours from Ireland, Pakistan and Australia.