ECB Cricket Discipline Committee statement re Worcs v Kent

After the abandonment of the match during which no play had been possible, ECB investigated the circumstances leading up to and during the match.

Submissions were requested and received from Worcestershire CCC and Kent Cricket along with a report from the Umpires.

These were submitted to the Chairman of the Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC), Mr Gerard Elias QC.

Having considered all the evidence and submissions from both Counties and applying the relevant CDC Regulations, Mr Elias determined that there were no grounds for any further action. In particular:

• He found that there was no evidence that the pitch itself was unfit, or that Worcestershire CCC had, by the action or wilful inaction of its groundstaff, done anything which materially adversely impacted upon the possibility of play;

• He was satisfied that reasonable decisions and actions had been taken by Worcestershire CCC in the light of the condition of the playing area in the period leading up to the match and weather conditions that prevailed;

• Specifically, in the 24 hours before the commencement of the match, when the home team practised on the whole of the square and playing area, Worcestershire CCC reasonably believed that the ground would be fit for the match commencing the following day;

Notwithstanding this, Mr Elias recognised that significant financial loss and inconvenience, as well as disappointment, will have been experienced by both Counties and their supporters, as well as other members of the public as a result of the abandonment.

Accordingly, he invited the ECB to consider whether any further actions and/or safeguards were possible to seek to ensure that county grounds staging matches in April were more likely to be able to do so satisfactorily.

The CDC will make no further comment on this matter.