Lancashire have become the latest county to cancel their pre-season tours amid the escalating conflict in the Gulf.
Both their men’s and women’s squads had been due to fly to the United Arab Emirates later this month, with the latter then moving on to Mumbai in India.
Instead the men will be heading head to the south of Spain and the women going to South Africa instead.
“Given the ongoing political situation in the Middle East, we have made the decision to rearrange our pre-season training plans, with the safety and security of both playing squads and staff being our number one priority,” said, external Lancashire director of cricket performance Mark Chilton.
They are the fifth club to cancel pre-season plans following Durham, Yorkshire, Glamorgan and Worcestershire.
Yorkshire and Durham had been due to travel to the United Arab Emirates, while Glamorgan and Worcestershire had planned a trips to Oman.
On Saturday the US and Israel began strikes on Iran, which has responded by launching attacks on US-allied states in the region.
Durham’s men’s squad had been set to travel to Abu Dhabi next Monday with their women’s side leaving two weeks later on 23 March.
Yorkshire had been scheduled to leave on Saturday and are now heading to Spain for a training camp instead.
“The safety and wellbeing of our players and staff is always our absolute priority,” said Durham director of cricket Marcus North.
“We have been monitoring the situation closely alongside the relevant authorities and, after careful consideration, we believe this is the right decision.”
Durham will now look to make alternative plans “to ensure the squad is fully ready for the start of the season.”
The opening round of the 2026 County Championship season begins on 3 April.
“We will make a further announcement in due course on our scheduled women’s tour. We will continue to assess all information available to us and make decisions in the best interests of everyone involved,” North added.
Glamorgan were due to play matches against Worcestershire and host country Oman as part of their warm-weather preparations for the county season.
“Above all else, our thoughts are with those affected in the region at this time,” said Glamorgan chief executive Dan Cherry.
“We have been monitoring the situation very closely and the decision has been made after careful consideration and dialogue.
“The safety and wellbeing of our players and staff is our utmost priority at all times.
“We are currently working hard to identify alternatives, both abroad and in the UK, to ensure we are fully prepared for the 2026 season and details of renewed plans will follow as soon as they are confirmed.”
Worcestershire say ensuring the “safety and wellbeing” of players and staff was “paramount”.
They added: “Alternative plans are now in place, with the club set to undertake an intensive pre-season training programme in the UK ahead of the new season.”
The conflict has also affected Derbyshire’s plans as they were due to pass through Doha en route to Zimbabwe. They will instead head for southern Spain.
