Hampshire Cricket remain ‘very positive’ Nathan Lyon will play for them one day

The Australian’s hopes of playing a key part in a County Championship title challenge this summer have been dashed by the coronavirus pandemic.White admits cancelling Lyon’s contract was the ‘best thing’ to do given the uncertainty as to when cricket will resume in England.‘He’s been brilliant to deal with and he totally understood the situation,’ White said.​ ‘We had adult discussions around his contract and where the season was heading, so it was mutually agreed between his agency, himself and the club.‘We felt the best thing to do for now is to postpone this contract and hopefully we’ll see him again.‘That’s going to be dependent on the Future Tours Programme and his availability, amongst other things, but I’m hopeful we’ll see him hopefully next year. ‘If not, we’ll certainly see him again in the future.‘He’s still positive about coming over and playing county cricket and I’m very positive about him coming over playing for Hampshire.’Like everyone, White is currently unsure what the next couple of months will bring – both in terms of cricket and the wider world.But from his lockdown base, he has kept in contact online with Hampshire’s players and staff while attempting to plan for the resumption of sport.He said: ‘I’m trying to avoid making assumptions and take it step-by-step, but of course our mindset is on what could be and to internally try to work out what the season might potentially look like.‘At this stage, I don’t think anything’s off the table. ‘It’s just a case of being able to react and adapt as soon as we know what the shape of the season might look like.‘Everyone seems pretty healthy, well, and in good spirits - but the longer it goes on, the more frustrated I think we’re all going to get.’