Sussex's opening County Championship match against Lancashire has been moved to Emirates Old Trafford following an inspection of the outfield at The 1st Central County Ground on Friday by ECB’s pitch & grounds advisor, Andy MacKay.

It was noted that Sussex’s head groundsperson, Ben Gibson and his team had made significant progress in renovating the areas of the pictch which had been affected by a leatherjacket grub population, but that moving the fixture would provide extra time for the outfield to fully recover.

It was therefore agreed by the Sharks, Lancashire and the ECB that the venue for the fixture would be switched.

Lancashire will now host Sussex at Emirates Old Trafford from Thursday April, 8 to Sunday April, 11, with the reverse fixture scheduled for Thursday April, 29 to Sunday May, 2 being played at The 1st Central County Ground.

The Sharks first home fixture of the season will now be their County Championship match against Yorkshire from Thursday April, 22 to Sunday April, 25.