Plans for capacity crowds at cricket grounds from June 21 are being drawn up to deliver full houses for England's mouth-watering schedule against India, Pakistan, New Zealand and Sri Lanka this summer.

The proposals, which have been put to government, could open up English cricket grounds for the Test series against India, and T20 and One Day Internationals against New Zealand and Sri Lanka.

It would also benefit domestic cricket allowing maximum attendances at the Vitality T20 Blast and The Hundred.

A working group of the England and Wales Cricket Board has masterminded a plan to bring full houses back to cricket, but it would deliver big gates at other sports from the end of next month, with use of covid certification.

The scheme proposes attendances of up to 30,000 fans, or half a stadium's capacity, whichever is larger.

It is based on the idea that ministers and scientists will be prepared to relax social distancing within stadiums, where supporters behaviour can be regulated, but are concerned about the impact on local transport networks around grounds.

International Cricket

2 & 10 June: England v New Zealand two Test series

23, 24 & 26 June: England v Sri Lanka T20s

29 June, 1 & 4 July: England v Sri Lanka ODIs

8, 10 & 13 July: England v Pakistan ODIs

16, 18 & 20 July: England v Pakistan T20s

4 Aug-14 Sept: England v India five Test series

Domestic Cricket

17 August: Royal London Cup semi final

19 August: Royal London Cup final

21 August: The Hundred women’s and men’s finals

24 August to 27 August: Vitality T20 Blast quarter finals

18 September: Vitality T20 Blast semi-finals and final

28 Sept-1 Oct: Bob Willis Trophy final at Lord's

And now they are urging ministers to test the idea at the England-New Zealand Test match at Edgbaston on June 10. But time is running out with fans wanting to know if their tickets will be valid.

As reported by Sportsmail, sports bodies and clubs have become frustrated with government over the absence of a clear plan to return to full capacities, with hundreds of thousands of tickets sold across multiple disciplines.

However, leading cricket clubs have come up with a pragmatic response to the challenge, which could save the summer for fans and clubs.

'The challenge is we have a combination of science and politics and we are trying to navigate our way through,' Daniel Gidney, chief executive of Lancashire County Cricket Club told Sportsmail.

The key to any increase in the number of fans at sports events rests with the social distancing requirement demanded by government.

In his roadmap out of lockdown, Prime Minister Boris Johnson declared June 21 - the beginning of step four - was the earliest date social distancing could be abandoned, depending on the levels of infection and vaccination, as well as the risk of new, vaccine-resistant variants.

The government's Events Research Programme, which has been testing the return of fans and audiences in sport and the arts using social distancing and testing has reportedly been successful, and a report is due to go to Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Johnson appears encouraged. While on the byelection campaign trail in Hartlepool this week, the Prime Minister said there is a 'good chance' the one-metre social distancing rule can be scrapped from June 21.

'If social distancing was dropped, we believe in cricket we should be able to get to 100 per cent capacity from June 21 and we are happy to have covid certification as part of that,' said Gidney.

The end of social distancing would in theory mean full houses in all stadiums from the end of June, since it is 'impossible' to social distance at capacities above 30%.

But full houses seem unlikely straight away. Gidney points out that Wembley is only earmarked to host half of its capacity at the showpiece Euro 2020 final on July 11.

The reason is, Gidney says, that while scientists may come to the conclusion that risks can be managed in stadiums, the impact in local areas and on public transport systems causes concern where very large crowds are involved.

The Lancashire executive expects scientists and ministers to remain cautious, but numbers can ramp up with the use of covid certification, which would show if a person had been vaccinated or tested, and provide more assurance.

'We believe the combination of a recognition of the impact on local [transport] networks in terms of the volume of people plus covid certification is a reasonable approach to take to support 100% in stadiums post June 21,' he added.

'We are saying we could also have an emergency handbrake based on… local infection rates. It gives scientists a 'get out of jail free pass' if infection rates climb. I think that is pragmatic and gives us room to manoeuvre.'

Sports leaders are keen that government avoid a fixed percentage of a stadium capacity across the board, as the country emerges from lockdown.

They point out this would penalise smaller stadiums. If the figure was 50% - as it is expected to be for Wembley - then Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium could accommodate almost 40,000 fans, while a few minutes' walk away, Lancashire's Emirates Old Trafford, an open and highly ventilated ground, would be allowed just 12,500.

And yet those crowds would be using the same transport networks, so there would be no reason to limit capacity at the cricket ground.

Cricket's proposal is based in part on the fact that the largest cricket ground in England, Lord's, hosts 30,000 spectators. So, the game is suggesting an initial limit of 30,000 fans or 50 per cent capacity, whichever is larger, until government feels confident to lift restrictions entirely.

However, whatever the guidelines, each stadium would have to agree the capacity for matches with their local Safety Advisory Group, which is made up of emergency services and local council officials. They would take into account the layout of the stadium but also any impact on public transport and the surrounding area.

Potential pilot events for the scheme would be the Lord's Test match against New Zealand on June 2 and the Edgbaston Test on June 10, which has already sold 70,000 tickets.

'We have been lobbying to say, 'why not treat the Test match as an evaluation event,' Warwickshire County Cricket Club chief executive, Stuart Cain, told Sportsmail. 'But we are running out of time.

Cain would like to trial covid certification, masks and the reduction in social distancing. Without that the match will go ahead with a capacity of 25 per cent stadium capacity.

'I am confident we can run a safe event at full capacity based on covid certification, face masks, technology [like electronic ticketing] and food and drink apps.

'What I am not confident about is, 'will we get the decision to do that based on other factors?'.'

Cain is conscious that the government's scientists want to process all of the data from the current trials, which have included an FA Cup semi-final and the Carabao Cup final, with the FA Cup final to follow on May 15, before sanctioning the next step.

There is frustration in sport, which is desperate for fans to return after 14 months without spectators and in many cases, clubs have suffered severe financial difficulty.

Not only is the route back unclear, other sectors of the economy are returning, which is creating anomalies.

'At the Bullring [shopping centre] 100,000 people can go through with no restrictions, but I can't get 12,000 into a four-acre open air park.

'In the next seven to 10 days we need to know where we stand,' added Cain, who has joined forces with representatives from the city of Birmingham, including West Midlands mayor, Andy Street, to make the case.

'We are still waiting to find out where we stand. The demand from people to watch live sport is there. And there is an expectation from the public that life will return to normal.'

If the government cannot deliver a plan to support the return of spectators in large numbers, sports administrators believe they will quickly have to start managing public expectations.

A spokesman for the Department for Culture Media and Sport, said: 'The first phase of the Events Research Programme is trialing the use of test on entry protocols, alongside a range of other safety measures, to examine how we can support the full reopening of venues.

'The results will feed into the separate wider review of Covid status certification ahead of Step 4 in the roadmap.

'We are working hard to ensure fans can safely return to full capacity events as soon as possible.'

Key events after 21 June - the earliest date all restrictions can be lifted:

11 June-11 July: Football - Euro 2020 in various countries, including seven matches at Wembley

28 June-11 July: Tennis - Wimbledon

23, 24 & 26 June: Cricket - England v Sri Lanka T20s

29 June, 1 & 4 July: Cricket - England v Sri Lanka ODIs

8, 10 & 13 July: Cricket - England v Pakistan ODIs

13 July: Athletics - Diamond League: Anniversary Games at London Stadium

15-18 July: Golf - The Open at Royal St George's

16, 18 & 20 July: Cricket - England v Pakistan T20s

17 July: Rugby League - Betfred Challenge Cup final at Wembley

18 July: Formula 1 - British Grand Prix at Silverstone

4 Aug-14 Sept: Cricket - England v India five Test series

6 August: Football - EFL season commences

14 August: Football - Premier League season commences

19 August: Cricket - Royal London Cup final

21 August: Cricket - The Hundred women’s and men’s finals

18 September: Cricket - Vitality T20 Blast semi-finals and final

28 Sept-1 Oct: Cricket - Bob Willis Trophy final at Lord's

3 October: Athletics - London Marathon

9 October: Rugby League - Super League Grand Final at Old Trafford