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By Tamara Prenn For Mailonline
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The weekend’s sporting calendar is under threat after a 24-hour weather warning was put in place ahead of the arrival of Storm Isha this weekend, with two of the weekend’s EFL fixtures already cancelled.
Meteorologists have placed the entire UK under a 24-hour yellow wind warning from 12pm on Sunday until 12pm on Monday amid fears over widespread travel chaos.
Forecasters also issued two amber warnings – one for parts of Sussex and Kent from midnight on Monday until 12pm; and another for western England and Wales, the North, Scotland and Northern Ireland from 6pm on Sunday until 9am on Monday.
But ahead of Sunday’s storm, freezing conditions across Britain have forced the cancellation of a number of sporting ties.
In League One, Cheltenham’s Saturday afternoon match against Carlisle United, and League Two’s clash between Mansfield Town and Sutton United at the same time have both been called off.
Matches have been cancelled at Mansfield Town’s Field Mill (pictured) and Cheltenham Town
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The pitches at both of the host clubs’ grounds – the Completely-Suzuki Stadium and Field Mill have frozen solid, and following inspections at the two sides, a decision has been taken in consultation with the Football League to postpone the games.
Cheltenham issued a statement in the wake of the news on Friday afternoon which stressed that despite frost covers being in place, the ground had still fallen victim to the extreme weather.
‘The frost covers have been on the pitch all week but temperatures for the past two nights have fallen so low that a considerable amount of frost has got into the pitch,’ a statement to the club’s website read.
‘On balance, it was felt that temperatures are not forecast to rise high enough to remove the frost before kick-off so the decision has been taken to postpone the match.
‘The timing of the decision has also taken into account the considerable journey faced by opponents Carlisle and a desire to inconvenience them as little as possible.’
Horse racing has been flummoxed by the freezing temperatures, with all of Saturday’s meetings cancelled
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Mansfield similarly had deployed frost covers some time in advance, but due to temperatures lower than minus seven degrees in Nottinghamshire, ‘the pitch was deemed unplayable’.
Saturday’s fixtures are not the first of the weekend to be called off – and there are fears they may not be the last.
The League Two meeting between Salford City and Colchester United planned for Friday night was cancelled on Thursday evening following a pitch inspection by a Football Association match official.
In horse racing, there will be no jump races on Saturday due to adverse conditions despite all the courses with meetings – Ascot, Haydock, and Taunton – all looking to ensure racing could go ahead with the use of protective coverings.
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