CLUB cricket in Worcestershire seems set to escape the worst of the foot-and-mouth crisis.

The new Worcestershire County League season begins tomorrow with only one of its clubs --Knighton-on-Teme -- having a ground in an area where restrictions are in place.

The league's administrator Alan Bayley said: "We are allowing them to change their fixtures around so they can play away, and we hope that in the second half of the season, when they were due to play away, they can then play at home.

"We have some contingency plans in place in case there are further outbreaks and other grounds fall into restricted areas, which would involve leagues being decided on a percentage basis, but fingers crossed that will not be the case."

The Division One programme starts tomorrow with the other county divisions beginning on May 5.

The fixture between Droitwich Spa and Old Elizabethans has already been called off due to ground conditions.