Jobs are threatened by sluggish sales of Test tickets

The White Rose county fought hard to bring the game to Headingley Carnegie but ticket sales have been sluggish.

As of yesterday, only around 4,500 per day had been sold to leave Yorkshire officials worried that the staging of the Test, which starts a week today, could leave the club's already under pressure finances squeezed even further.

Chief executive Regan said: "Sales are not what we would have expected so we are really urging cricket fans in Yorkshire, and particularly those from the Asian community, to come down and support the Test match.

"It is crucial from a financial point of view for us that staging the Test proves to be a success.

"We said a few weeks ago that, from a financial point of view, these are difficult times. In our case, we are finding it tough in terms of cash-flow.

"I want to stress to everyone there is no need to panic. We continue to enjoy the financial backing of our partners and the bank, while we also have the backing of our chairman (Colin Graves) who under-writes our debts.

"But if the Pakistan v Australia Test doesn't prove to be a success, it will put pressure on the club. That would involve us having to make cuts, and in particular to our running costs.

"Within that, we would possibly be looking at our overall head count. And while we have not said there will be redundancies as such, we do accept that will be one possible avenue we go down."

Yorkshire are pinning their hopes on the Test attracting a significant number of fans through the turnstiles on each of the five scheduled days.

Regan said he was "hugely encouraged by the first day of the Test (at Lord's yesterday) where Pakistan did very well to suggest the game at Headingley Carnegie will be a great contest."

Mohammad Asif sparked an Australian collapse with three wickets in a devastating seven-ball spell as Pakistan gained the ascendancy on day one of the first neutral Test at Lord's in 98 years. Australia slumped from 172-2 to 229-9 before bad light stopped play.

The series is being played in England because of the security situation in Pakistan.