LANCASHIRE are to lift the Old Trafford booze ban for Wednesday's NatWest Trophy second round tie against Yorkshire.

The club caused controversy by banning all spectators, except members, from bringing alcohol into the ground for the Test Match - with speculation that the restrictions have been a factor in the disappointing attendances.

But although Lancashire have been happy with the effects of the ban on crowd behaviour at both the Test and the Texaco Trophy international in May, they will not extend the experiment to the big Roses clash.

"We have never had the same sort of problems with chanting and pitch invasions at county matches as we have at England games," said chief executive Jim Cumbes.

"It will actually be a good measure of the affect the ban has, comparing the way the crowd behaves when we lift it."

There will still be restrictions on taking alcohol into the ground, with the same limit as for the members during the Test - four cans of beer, or a bottle of wine.

Lancashire are hoping for an attendance at least as big as yesterday's Test crowd, of around 8,000.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.