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| June 5, 2005 | Sunday | Rabi-us-Sani 27, 1426 |
Kent appeal against pitch penalty
LONDON, June 4: Kent have appealed against an eight-point penalty imposed over the state of their pitch during a match this week. The England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) pitch panel imposed the penalty after Kent’s match against Gloucestershire at Maidstone.
The pitch came under scrutiny after 27 wickets fell on the first two days of the County Championship match.
Kent’s 18-point haul will be cut to 10 if the ECB penalty stands, but Kent have indicated their intention to challenge the sanction.
A statement from the club read: “Kent County Cricket Club has confirmed that it will be lodging an appeal with the ECB in a bid to overturn the decision made by the Pitch Inspection Panel that the wicket prepared for the Kent v Gloucester match at Maidstone was unsatisfactory.”
The decision was taken after chief executive Paul Millman met with other club officials following the club’s seven-wicket win.
Millman expressed his sympathy for groundsman Tony Saunders and insisted the problem of looking after surfaces was a common one across the country at this time of year.
“Tony is under a lot of pressure. The conditions for preparing cricket grounds anywhere at this time of year - whether it’s a county ground or an out ground — are very difficult,” he said.
Friday’s scores:
County Championship (third day of four):
Division One:
At Maidstone: Kent (18pts) beat Gloucestershire (3pts) by seven wickets. Gloucestershire 183 and 98; Kent 204 (M.A. Hardinges 5-51) and 78-3.
At Swansea: Sussex 497-5 declared (R.R. Montgomerie 184 not out, M.W. Goodwin 158); Glamorgan 289-7 (D.L. Hemp 125 not out, M.T.G. Elliott 85; J.D. Lewry 5-76).
At Trent Bridge: Hampshire 277 (C.D. McMillan 52; A J Harris 6-83); Nottinghamshire 222-5 (C.M.W. Read 59 not out)
At Whitgift: Surrey 340 (J.N. Batty 84 not out, R.S. Clinton 84) and 310-7 declared (T.J. Murtagh 74 not out, M.P. Bicknell 58); Warwickshire 209 (A.G.R. Loudon 58; Mohammad Akram 5-51) and 18-1.
Division Two:
At Chelmsford: Derbyshire 462 (G. Welch 112, S.D. Stubbings 92; R.S. Bopara 4-93) and 90-0 (M.J. Di Venuto 53 not out); Essex 320 (J.D. Middlebrook 71, J.S. Foster 67, R.C. Irani 67; G. Welch 5-63, M.A. Sheikh 4-67).
At Old Trafford: Northamptonshire 175 (J.M. Anderson 4-51) and 94-3 Lancashire 149.
At Oakham School: Leicestershire 338 (H.D. Ackerman 117, C.W. Henderson 50); Somerset 105 and 17-0.
At New Road: Durham 256; Worcestershire 226-7 (B.F. Smith 106 not out).—AFP
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