Entire Cheltenham Festival moved to Bristol

Gloucestershire have moved their remaining games of the Cheltenham Festival to Bristol because of a lack of tap water following the floods. The first Championship match, which began today against Essex, had already been switched after heavy storms left the Cheltenham College ground underwater and without electricity.

Sunday's Pro40 match against Warwickshire and the other Championship match with Derbyshire, which begins on July 31, will now be held at Bristol, too.

The club expect the switches will mean lost revenue, as a statement confirmed: "The county expect to recoup some funds from rain insurance but the money-spinning festival is central to their finances."

These matches are the latest in the domestic calendar to fall foul of extreme weather and follows the abandonment of two Pro40 matches slated for Cheltenham -against Northamptonshire and Lancashire.

The chief executive Tom Richardson said: "We have no choice but to move the fixtures. Had we had running water at Cheltenham, we are confident we would have been able to put these fixtures on despite the awful weather we have been having. Indeed, we could have got some cricket at Cheltenham yesterday if it had not been for the lack of running water.

But he also put things into perspective. "Whilst we consider our cricket matches and what we do to be important it pales in to insignificance compare to the traumatic experiences suffered by many people.

The county's second XI match v Somerset at Bristol was cancelled to allow for the rearrangement with Essex.