Lord's ruled out for Euro Nations Cup final after ECB decision

The annual men's and women's T20 competition has been under development since earlier this year, with Cricket Ireland, Cricket Scotland and Cricket Netherlands leading the project.

Organisers had targeted an inaugural edition during the opening months of next summer and initially hoped England would also be involved.

According to BBC Sport sources, the ECB refused to sanction the hosting agreement required for an international T20 competition to take place in England. One source said the governing body feared criticism from county clubs if international fixtures were scheduled during the domestic season.

The decision came despite backing from the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), which viewed the competition as an opportunity to strengthen cricket across Europe.

The MCC had offered to stage the tournament final at Lord's and was also prepared to support the use of Sir Paul Getty's Wormsley estate, which has a strategic partnership with the club, as a venue for additional matches.

The setback represents a change from the optimism surrounding the project earlier this year, when organisers believed they could secure the ECB's support for the initiative.

However, concerns over scheduling had already emerged. In March, Richard Gould said fitting the proposed event into England's already packed international calendar would be challenging.