Worcs lose more than £1m

The ground was flooded again yesterday with the threat of new damage to the historic venue.

The county's annual accounts revealed a pre-tax loss of £693,211 after an insurance payout of £300,000 and an ECB grant of £75,000.

No cricket was played at New Road after June 21 last summer after the River Teme twice burst its banks due to torrential rain.

Chief executive Mark Newton said: "The impact of the floods last summer is well documented and these figures show how big an impact they have had on the finances of the club.

"For the previous four years we posted a surplus and we have a strong balance sheet. This, together with help from many sources including our bankers at Clydesdale Bank and the Inland Revenue, ensured the club survived such a devastating year.

"I would go so far as to say it was probably the worst disaster to ever hit a county cricket club as a result of an act of god and our players deserve full credit for achieving what they did.

"Our recovery plan is well advanced and we have received significant help from many individuals and a number of organisations since September which will be reflected in next year's accounts.

"We expect it will take two years for us to fully recover financially but we are sending out the positive message that our cricket budget will remain ring-fenced and we intend to raise considerable funds ourselves during 2008 and 2009."

The ground flooded again this week but Newton said the club were used to dealing with winter floods and did not envisage major problems.

He added: "It's very much a routine winter flood, although there are a couple of potential problems.

"The floods are not predicted to peak until until Wednesday and if the levels rise above the level of the buildings then we might have another clear-up operation to complete."