THERE will be no Minor Counties Championship match at Mildenhall this year as Suffolk stage two three-day fixtures at the Victory Ground in Bury St Edmunds instead.
And Copdock & Old Ipswichians will host a one-day Minor Counties Knock-out Trophy match for the first time in six years at their Old London Road ground.
Suffolk secretary Toby Pound said: “The players particularly wanted to play at Bury St Edmunds, rather than Mildenhall, because Wamil Way is so flat and it is not a good ‘result’ wicket.
“We have generally always struggled to take 20 wickets there, and last year it was particularly flat and once batsmen got in it was very difficult to get them out.”
Last year’s match at Mildenhall against Cumberland ended in a draw, after rain forced it to be abandoned early on day three. However, on a batsman-friendly surface stand-in skipper Tom Huggins and Hassan Adnan put on a county record opening stand against Cumberland of 227 in Suffolk’s first innings.
Three Cumberland batsmen then made centuries in their reply before Adnan compiled his second ton of the match and Martyn Cull also reached three figures.
Ransomes Sports Ground in Ipswich, a regular venue for Suffolk over the years, was not considered because the square at the Sidegate Avenue venue is no longer up to the required standard.
Copdock, who last hosted a one-day fixture in 2006, will host Suffolk’s opening group fixture, against Lincolnshire, on Sunday April 22.
Pound said: “Copdock have been keen to stage a match for a couple of years, and we felt we wanted to support the club following their promotion to the East Anglian Premier League.
“They asked us last year, but we were unable to accommodate them at the time.”
The date of Suffolk’s annual early-season friendly against Essex has yet to be arranged.
Suffolk Fixtures 2012
All matches start at 11am unless shown:
Minor Counties Championship
June
Sun 3 to Tues 5 v Norfolk, at Bury St Edmunds.
Sun 24 to Tues 26 v Bedfordshire, at Bury St Edmunds.
July
Sun 8 to Tues 10 v Hertfordshire, at Long Marston.
Sun 22 to Tues 24 v Cambridgeshire, at Wisbech.
August
Sun 5 to Tues 7 v Staffordshire, at Knypersley.
Sun 19 to Tues 21 v Lincolnshire, at Ipswich School.
Sept
Sun to Wed 8-12 (tbc) - Championship Final – Western Division winners at home
Minor Counties Knock-out Trophy
Group Two
April
Sun 22 v Lincolnshire, at Copdock.
Sun 29 v Norfolk, at Manor Park, Norwich.
May
Sun 6 v Wiltshire, at Ipswich School.
Sun 13 v Shropshire, at Shifnal.
Sun, June 17
Quarter Finals
Match 1: Winner Group 1 v Runner-up Group 3
Match 2: Winner Group 2 v Runner-up Group 1
Match 3: Winner Group 3 v Runner-up Group 4
Match 4: Winner Group 4 v Runner-up Group 2
Sun, July 1
Semi-finals
Winner Match 3 v Winner Match 1
Winner Match 4 v Winner Match 2
Mon, July 2
Semi-finals Reserve Day
August
Final - tbc
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