Morecambe's friendly at Chorley is called off

The Shrimps were due to play at Victory Park, only for the summer heatwave to intervene.

A statement on the Chorley website on Wednesday night said: “Unfortunately, because of the continued warm weather and limited rainfall, the new pitch needs more time to be ready ahead of the 2018/19 season.

“Representatives of the two clubs mutually agreed that it wouldn’t be in the interests of either team to play on the surface in its current condition.”

It’s the Shrimps’ third pre-season game to be affected by the hot weather following the cancelled home game with Bolton Wanderers and the trip to Lancaster City.

They were able to move the Bolton game to Wanderers’ training ground and replace the Lancaster match with a trip to Alfreton Town but it remains to be seen if a weekend opponent can be found at short notice.

If not, Jim Bentley’s players are due to be back in action on Tuesday when they travel to Chester before hosting Fleetwood Town on July 28.

Elsewhere, it was announced earlier on Wednesday that the Shrimps would also face Stoke City in the group stages of this season’s Checkatrade Trophy.

Morecambe already knew they would face Carlisle United and Sunderland before the Potters were confirmed as the final team on Wednesday lunchtime.

It will be the second time Morecambe have met Stoke in the competition, having beaten them 3-1 at the Globe Arena in October 2016.