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The Supreme Court had mandated the Law Commission to undertake such a study after the Lodha Committee recommended in its report that betting on cricket be made legal in India

Arun Venugopal08-Aug-2017Tasked with examining the possibility of legalising betting, the Law Commission of India has sought the suggestions of the BCCI’s member units before submitting its recommendations. The Supreme Court had mandated the Law Commission to undertake such a study after the Lodha Committee had recommended in its exhaustive report that betting on cricket be made legal in India.In a letter to the board’s member associations, Sanjay Singh, member secretary of the Law Commission, said the Commission would examine both betting and gambling given their “intertwining nature.””While the Law Commission has been reaching out to the various stakeholders to seek their observations and suggestions, it considers that the views of your association will be valuable in formulating its recommendations on betting,” Singh wrote in the letter accessed by ESPNcricinfo.”I would, therefore, request you to forward the views of the association on the matter to the Commission at the earliest, as we would like to submit our report in line with the directions of the Supreme Court, at an early date.”The debate over legalising betting has been a topic in Indian cricket ever since the match-fixing scandal rocked the sport in 2000. In fact, the creation of the Lodha Committee, which recommended a structural overhaul of cricket administration in India, was a direct consequence of the 2013 spot-fixing episode in the Indian Premier League.As things stand, horse racing is the only sport on which betting is legal in India, as a result of which betting on cricket operates in an unregulated environment run by illegal bookmakers.The Committee stated in its report that many respondents appearing before it were of the view that legalising betting would benefit both the sport and the country’s economy.”It cannot be overlooked that the worldwide legal sports betting market is worth over 400 billion dollars,” the Lodha Committee’s report stated. “However, with the interest of cricket being foremost in our minds, it would always be necessary to protect and invoke transparency from those involved in the game.”The Committee, however, was clear that betting must be legalised only with the following safeguards in place: “a) Regulatory watchdogs would be necessary to ensure that the betting houses as well as those transacting there are strictly monitored, failing which their registrations would be susceptible to cancellation; b) The Players, Administrators and others closely associated with the sport would be required to furnish the details of their incomes and assets for the sake of transparency; c) Licenses would have to be issued to those placing the bets as well, with age and identification details recorded; d) Strict penal sanctions would have to be imposed on those transgressing the license and other requirements.”BS Chauhan, the chairman of the Law Commission, had reckoned that there was a case for regulating betting through an enactment of a law rather than a blanket ban. “Harm resulting from excess is not limited to gambling alone, as an excess of anything may negate its benefits,” he was quoted as saying at a seminar organised by FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) and the All India Gaming Federation in March in a report.”The response of the state in such a situation should be to regulate the activity, not seek to stop it completely. Legalisation would give the government the opportunity to bring gambling out from the dark corners of society, impose controls and extract some revenue … if betting were legal then a huge chunk of money that, at the moment, circulates only round the black market, would quickly become available,” he said.A BCCI official said, however, that legalising betting and gambling was a complex argument that required adequate spadework. “If you want to do it and make it successful, there is a lot to be done because it can’t be half-baked,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “If you legalise betting, then who runs the betting houses? Will it be done by the government or will there be certain companies? Is there going to be a structure in place for those companies? Have you thought of a system where you need gambling de-addiction centres? There are not enough liquor de-addiction centres in India, forget betting.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDilani Manodara struck a career-best 84 off 111 balls•Getty/ICC

Pakistan flirted with their first victory in 14 World Cup matches several times over the course of the action in Leicester. They had Sri Lanka at 98 for 5 in the 27th over but somehow let them scramble to 221. Then, in the chase, they were 134 for 4 with a well-set Nain Abidi finding the boundaries at will. But she would be run out – the result of a mix up with her captain Sana Mir – as self-inflicted wounds eventually led to a defeat most agonising. They needed 16 runs in 21 balls when their last wicket fell.

Will come back stronger – Mir

After finishing a second successive World Cup campaign without a victory, Pakistan captain Sana Mir highlighted weaknesses in their batting line-up as a major area that needed improvement.
“Our batters have been under pressure throughout the tournament but they put up a fight today,” she said. “Mostly we are not able to finish matches when we get on top as we give away wickets at crucial times and that happened again today.
“We are very disappointed. But in life, these things happen but you have to bounce back. We will learn from the tournament and the younger players will come back stronger.”

Watching the chaos unfold from behind the wicket was Dilani Manodara. Thirty-four years old, and perhaps playing her last World Cup game, she couldn’t have hoped for more as she first resurrected Sri Lanka’s innings with a career-best 84 off 111 balls and then savoured a hard-fought victory – the only one her team will take home. Could she have imagined that when she had been at the crease, trying determinedly to glue Sri Lanka together? She might have despaired as her top four couldn’t move past a score of 27, but in Eshani Lokusuriyage, she found someone willing to stick around. The two batsmen put on a pivotal 76 runs in 16.2 overs and the momentum shifted.The other major contributor was left-arm spinner Chandima Gunaratne, who, also, at 35, might wonder if she can stay on the radar until 2021. Perhaps that had only spurred her on to grab her chance. She was given the new ball and it worked for her so well that her first spell lasted eight overs and fetched two wickets – Nahida Khan, bowled by the quicker ball, and Ayesha Zafar, caught off the slower one. Sri Lanka saved the last of her overs for the death, and that too proved a master stroke – she was brought back in the 34th and with her first ball she pinned Mir lbw and eventually finished with 4 for 41.Abidi, by this time, was left to stew in the dressing room. Having come in at 43 for 2 in the 14th over, she did her best to upset the strangle Sri Lanka were so desperate to pull off. She was adept at finding gaps through point, third man and fine leg and her her free-flowing innings – 57 off only 68 balls with nine fours – seemed to suggest Pakistan might not have to walk away from another World Cup winless; they had lost all of their four matches in 2013.But it was not to be. She was run out with the target 88 runs away. Asmavia Iqbal took up her place and fought bravely, guiding a brittle tail so very close to the finish line. But she ended up at the non-strikers end, with 38 off 45 balls, when Sri Lanka captain Inoka Ranaweera bowled No. 11 Sadia Yousuf to cap a special spell. Forty-six of her 58 deliveries were dots and then she took the match-sealing wicket.It was Sri Lanka’s first win in seven World-Cup matches, secured under the watchful eyes of Kathy Cross and Sue Redfern, the first set of female on-field umpires to officiate an international game since at least 2000.

Manchester United defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka has been approached by DR Congo and could decide to switch his international allegiance from England.

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Wan-Bissaka receives Congo approachWanted for AFCON 2024 tournamentCould opt to switch international allegianceWHAT HAPPENED?

DR Congo want Wan-Bissaka to be part of their squad for the 2024 AFCON tournament, according to The Athletic. Wan-Bissaka is said to be "considering" the opportunity of playing for the Leopards and switching his international allegiance from England. The Manchester United defender has played for England at Under-20 and Under-21 level but has never made a senior appearance for the Three Lions. The closest he came was back in 2019 when he was called up by Gareth Southgate. However, he subsequently pulled out of the squad for the two Euro 2020 qualifiers due to injury, meaning he is still uncapped and eligible to play for DR Congo.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE

It remains to be seen whether Wan-Bissaka will accept the offer from Congo, but if he does the decision may not go down well with Manchester United. The AFCON 2024 tournament kicks off in January in Ivory Coast and runs until February 11th. If Wan-Bissaka were to be involved then United could potentially lose the defender for over a month due to his international commitments. The Red Devils are also expected to be without first choice goalkeeper Andre Onana during that time as the stopper is expected to play for Cameroon at the tournament.

DID YOU KNOW?

Wan-Bissaka and Onana are not the only Manchester United players who could be jetting off to AFCON 2024. Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast), Hannibal Mejbri (Tunisia), and on-loan midfielder Sofyan Amrabat (Morocco) may also feature if called up by their national teams.

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR WAN-BISSAKA?

Wan-Bissaka's season has been disrupted by injury but he is now fit and available and will be hoping to cement his place in Erik ten Hag's starting XI. The defender is into the final season of his contract at Old Trafford and is facing an uncertain future. The club do have the option to activate a 12-month extension clause in his existing deal and may opt to do that rather than handing him a new long-term deal at the club.

Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami team-mates attended an end of season party for 2023 that featured a giant club-themed cake.

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• Historic Leagues Cup win enjoyed in 2023
• Intend to compete for everything next season
• Argentine skipper has another Ballon d'Or

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Florida-based outfit missed out on a place in the MLS playoffs, meaning that their campaign was cut short. They did, however, enjoy a historic Leagues Cup triumph within weeks of welcoming all-time great Messi to the United States.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Inter Miami, with Luis Suarez seemingly on his way to join a number of former Barcelona colleagues in America, intend to compete for every major honour up for grabs in 2024. Head coach Tata Martino has revealed that pre-season training will begin on January 10.

• Casadonna Miami/Instagram
  

  DID YOU KNOW?

  Prior to that, a star-studded squad have been letting their hair down. Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Benjamin Cremaschi were among those in attendance at Miami-based restaurant Casadonna, with a giant cake featuring the club’s crest, mini footballs and a goal taking centre stage.

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• WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

  Inter Miami had been due to take in a two-game tour of China after seeing their domestic season come to a close, but that trip to Asia has been cancelled. Instead, Messi and Co will line up against New York City FC on Friday – with their Argentine captain set to parade the eighth Ballon d’Or of his remarkable career – while a friendly with Newell’s Old Boys is expected to be put in place for early 2024.

Manchester United have been no strangers to poaching players from their bitter rivals over the years, with the Red Devils having notably snapped up the likes of Eric Cantona, Rio Ferdinand and Alan Smith from long-time foes, Leeds United in the Premier League era.

According to recent reports, it looks as if Erik ten Hag and co could be set to make another summer raid on the Yorkshire side, with TEAMtalk suggesting that the Old Trafford outfit are in the race for American midfielder, Tyler Adams.

The piece adds (citing a report from The Athletic) that the former RB Leipzig man – who only made the move to England last summer on a £20m deal – could be allowed to depart for a fee of around £40m ahead of next season, following the Whites' recent relegation.

The report also suggests that the 24-year-old has outlined his desire to play in the Premier League once again next season, with another of United's rivals – Liverpool – also said to be plotting a move.

The presence of Jurgen Klopp's side may prove an obstacle to Ten Hag's hopes of landing the New York native this summer, although the Carabao Cup winners should certainly do all they can to ensure that they are at the front of the queue.

Who could Adams replace at Man United?

There may be those who would turn their nose up at the prospect of signing a newly-relegated player, although Adams hardly disgraced himself having enjoyed a promising debut season in English football – prior to suffering what proved to be a season-ending hamstring injury in March.

With the midfield maestro ultimately missing the final 12 games of the season – only two of which ended in victory for Leeds – that absence was likely a key factor in the club's downfall, as he had been "instrumental" prior to that, according to pundit Kevin Campbell.

Lauded as a "tackling machine" by Campbell, the £55k-per-week ace notably finished joint-fourth in the division alongside Casemiro for tackles made despite that extended spell on the sidelines, further highlighting his destructive brilliance in the centre of the park.

The addition of such a 'machine' could then prove to be the final nail in the coffin for Scott McTominay's time at the club, with the 26-year-old – who also typically lines up in a deeper midfield role – having been linked with a summer exit amid interest from Newcastle United.

The Scotland international may be left running scared by Adams' arrival at the Theatre of Dreams, with the latter man seemingly offering more in a defensive sense to Ten Hag after averaging 5.2 tackles and interceptions combined per game from his 24 league appearances in 2022/23, while McTominay averaged just 1.9 in that regard from the same number of games.

The Leeds man may also offer more in possession having averaged one key pass per game as a sign of his creative intent, while the Red Devils academy graduate averaged just 0.3 key passes.

With McTominay seemingly having had his chance to impress over recent years, it could be time for United to find a new midfield solution with the signing of Adams.

Erik ten Hag has a long list of potential skippers after stripping Harry Maguire of the armband

No one should have been surprised by the news that Harry Maguire is no longer the captain of Manchester United. The defender was only skipper in name after slipping all the way down the pecking order to fifth-choice centre-back last season, and it had long been reported that Erik ten Hag was going to officially strip him of the armband this summer.

Maguire had been an able if unremarkable captain during the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer years and was particularly important in United's run to second place and the Europa League final in the 2020-21 season. But after his form dramatically declined over the next two campaigns there were always going to be doubts about his position in the long term.

And it made no sense for a player who started only eight Premier League matches last season to have such a prestigious role. Indeed, Maguire was only brought on in the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle so that he could lift the trophy. That was a nice touch from Ten Hag but it also served to highlight the fact Maguire was no longer a suitable captain due to his declining presence in the team.

Maguire didn't even get on the pitch in the FA Cup final against Manchester City and towards the end of the season, Ten Hag started to refer to Bruno Fernandes as captain even though the England defender was still officially skipper.

Fernandes is the No. 1 candidate to succeed Maguire permanently, but there are a number of other contenders for the role. GOAL runs through the choices…

Getty Images8Mason Mount

Mount probably saw himself spending most of his career at Chelsea. But the relationship soured as the club focused on making as many new signings as possible without looking after one of their own.

Mount was determined to move to United and seems utterly delighted to be there. It would be a bold choice to give the club's brand new signing the armband but it would also be a huge vote of confidence in the midfielder and give him responsibility early in his Old Trafford career.

AdvertisementGetty Images7Christian Eriksen

Eriksen's career was practically written off after he suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch at Euro 2020, with Inter ending his contract soon after.

But Brentford took a chance on him and a few months later the Dane earned the biggest move of his life by joining United. The midfielder took no time to settle into the team and formed a formidable axis in the middle of the park with Fernandes and Casemiro.

Few players in the squad can match his wealth of experience and it takes a hell of a lot of character to rebuild your career in the way he has. He is certainly captain material.

Getty Images6Luke Shaw

Shaw is United's longest-serving player now that David de Gea has departed. And that would be enough to make him captain at many of Europe's top sides.

The left-back is a leading voice for club and country, as well as being one of the team's most consistent performers. He is also fully committed to United after recently signing a new contract until 2027.

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Getty5Raphael Varane

You can't argue with the Frenchman's CV: four Champions Leagues, three La Liga titles and a World Cup winner's medal. Varane has seen it all, working with some of the best managers in football including Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Zinedine Zidane and Rafa Benitez.

He is not a tub-thumping leader but he has always done his talking on the pitch and led by example. He is also fluent in three languages, making him a suitable captain of a modern, international dressing room such as United's.

Chelsea attacker Kai Havertz is being eyed up by Real Madrid for a shock summer transfer, Fabrizio Romano has confirmed.

What's going on with Havertz?

The German international has had another disappointing season, scoring nine goals in 47 games across all competitions, and the 23-year-old could be sacrificed in order to bring another forward in.

The versatile attacker scored the winner as Chelsea won the Champions League two years ago, but has been underwhelming during his time at Stamford Bridge beyond that moment, and his three season spell could now come to an end as Carlo Ancelotti takes aim at the £150k-per-week star.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano confirmed that Los Blancos are interested in Havertz to add depth to their attack, with Marco Asensio set to depart.

"There have been many rumours about Kai Havertz in the last 24 hours, and I'm told that it's true, Real Madrid really appreciate him. He was one of the names they mentioned in their internal meeting they had with Carlo Ancelotti, and with people on the board who report to Florentino Perez," he stated.

"So it's true that they really appreciate Kai Havertz. They believe that Havertz is the kind of creative player with skills that Real Madrid don't have in the current team, let's remind that Marco Asensio will leave the club.

"The situation on the Chelsea side, from what I'm told, Chelsea are open to negotiating for Kai Havertz. So Havertz is not an untouchable player at Chelsea, but some of the reports coming from Spain were mentioning maybe a loan with a buy option clause or these kind of things, no. Chelsea want important money for their important players."

Should Chelsea sell Havertz?

Depending on the size of the offer that comes in from Real Madrid, a sale of Havertz could solve a number of problems at Chelsea.

The club need to sell players in order to comply with financial fair play rules, and Havertz could be a player sacrificed given his underwhelming contributions on the pitch.

Havertz joined for an astonishing £75m in 2020, and whilst it seems highly unlikely that Chelsea will recover a lot of this, cutting their losses now whilst his value is high could help Mauricio Pochettino buy a new striker, and Havertz's departure would make space in the squad.

Victor Osimhen has been targeted, and if Havertz making way can generate space and funds to sign the Napoli striker, then it is a deal that Chelsea should look to complete.

On a day when India made questionable selections, one of the management’s moves in this series, the promotion of R Ashwin to No. 6, rescued them from 126 for 5

The Report by Sidharth Monga09-Aug-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
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Manjrekar: Saha, Ashwin save Kohli the blushes

On a day when India made questionable selections, one of the management’s moves in this series, the promotion of R Ashwin to No. 6, rescued them from 126 for 5. In testing conditions India left out Cheteshwar Pujara and M Vijay in favour of Rohit Sharma, whose inclusion led to a rejigged batting order.While this apparent push for quick runs resulted in a batting failure, West Indies were not behind in making unusual moves. There was more purpose to their attack, after putting India in, than in the first two Tests. But when they should have looked to finish things off, they opted for the patience route, which cut down the runs thanks to a slow outfield. The wickets, though, came only through the batsmen’s impatience. KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane threw away starts with impatient shots, but Ashwin – dropped on 26 and caught off a no-ball on 35 – and Wriddhiman Saha soldiered on to keep India from imploding.Ashwin and Saha, 46 off 122, added an unbeaten 108 for the sixth wicket. Another lower-order contribution was a continuation of a trend for India: on tough pitches in the home season, they recovered from 139 for 6 in Delhi, 125 for 6 in Nagpur, and 102 for 5 in Mohali.The big comeback, though, was that of West Indies in the series. For the first eight days of the series they were pretty much outplayed. Moral victories and psychology can be terms abused in cricket, but the Jamaica draw might have caused damage in Indian heads that might have played a part in leaving them in tatters at tea in St Lucia. West Indies won the toss and utilised the conditions efficiently without being sensational, but India helped them out with their selections.Having survived the Jamaica Test, West Indies mounted a fresh challenge against this unsteady Indian batting line-up – a different top three in each Test – by taking wickets when the pitch was fresh and then choking India out with disciplined bowling. Rahul and Rahane, the only specialist batsmen to reach double figures, helped India recover from 19 for 2 but fell in soft manner just before the two session breaks, Rahane to a full toss to end his slowest Test innings of 10 or more.The second of the wickets was the highlight. Debutant Alzarri Joseph, who impressed with his pace and his bowling mechanics in only his ninth first-class match, nicked out Virat Kohli with the new ball, a promotion in the order because of the selection of Rohit. West Indies’ resistance and the resultant draw in Jamaica led to three changes for India, two of them expected, Ravindra Jadeja and Bhuvneshwar Kumar in for Amit Mishra and Umesh Yadav.The batting selections were instructive. At the toss, Kohli, who would have batted if he had won the toss anyway, emphasised that Rohit can change a match in a session. Both Vijay, who was fit after missing the Jamaica Test, and Pujara are reputed to be slower scorers. Turns out India might have misread the pitch or underestimated the attack: the situation asked for the patience of Vijay and Pujara. Moreover, Kohli and Rahane had to give up their familiar batting positions.West Indies were more aggressive to begin with. They added Joseph to the attack, and peppered India with short deliveries. The moisture in the pitch gave them spongy bounce when they pitched short, and some seam movement when they pitched it up. Shikhar Dhawan wasted little time in falling to a short ball, tickling Shannon Gabriel down the leg side.Kohli walked in at No. 3, but the fresh pitch with the new seaming ball was not suited for his style of play: soon he shaped up to cut a Joseph delivery that was neither short nor wide, neither full nor close enough to him. Kohli was eventually done in by the extra bounce, but playing such deliveries you get away on pitches like the one in Antigua or against the old ball. A bit of a repeat of his England dismissals brought in India’s most reliable batsman, Rahane.It was Rahul who weathered most of the initial storm. After an ordinary start – missing five of the first 11 balls he played at – he punished every error in length. Every time West Indies overpitched, Rahul drove hard, even in the air. Short and wide deliveries were cut away. It didn’t matter that the good ones in between kept beating him. On a day that the rest of the team scored 169 runs, Rahul took 50 off only 65 balls. Having done the hard work, Rahul fell 18 minutes before lunch, trying to whip a shortish delivery from Roston Chase straight to the man who had just moved to short fine leg.West Indies came back attacking in the second session. Soon Rohit fell in typical manner, pushing defensively at a Joseph outswinger a set of stumps outside off. After that wicket, though, perhaps because the pitch had settled down, West Indies began to test India’s patience. It worked: minutes before tea, Rahane, seeing release in a Chase full toss, swept down the wrong line and was bowled for 35 off 133. That didn’t result in taking off the part-time spin of Kraigg Brathwaite.The middle session produced just 43 runs for two wickets, and instead of going for the wickets of the lesser batsmen West Indies began with Jason Holder and Chase in the final session. On another day, persisting with these tactics might have worked but West Indies made two crucial mistakes. When Ashwin left the crease in impatience, inside-edging Chase, Leon Johnson missed him at short leg. When West Indies looked to break the monotony, Gabriel bowled a short ball from round the wicket for a catch at point, it turned out he had cut the return crease with his back foot.Other than that, Ashwin and Saha showed remarkable patience. Because of the slow outfield West Indies could have a stacked field. Chase often bowled with a six-three leg-side field, leaving point open and bowling into the pads. Any scoring was now fraught with risk, and if he dropped the ball short the slow outfield cost him just the one run. India were in no state to take risks so the two batsmen put their head down, and kept picking whatever singles or twos were on offer.Between the fall of Rahul and the claiming of the second new ball, only 111 runs came in 61.3 overs. Against the new ball, having done the hard work, the two batsmen chanced their arms. An edge fell short here, another flew over slips there; a crisp drive was misfielded now, a bowler bowled a loose ball there, and India had 46 in the last nine overs to wrest the initiative a bit. India dropped solid batsmen for quick runs when they should have been weathering the new ball out, then they were forced to bat slowly when they should have been capitalising on the older ball and tired fielders, and finally the lesson of building long Test innings was delivered by the lower order whose first role in the team is not batting.

Manchester United have made an approach to the representatives of Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Alexis Mac Allister, Fabrizio Romano reports.

What’s the latest news on Man United and Mac Allister?

The Red Devils are on the hunt for a new midfielder and forward this summer, looking to build on a successful first season under Erik ten Hag.

Mac Allister has emerged as a real target in recent weeks, with journalist Steve Bates recently claiming that Ten Hag has held transfer talks with director of football John Murtough, technical director Darren Fletcher and chief executive Richard Arnold.

The Argentinian is thought to be on the manager’s radar, and it looks as if the Red Devils have made a first move for the World Cup winner.

Romano took to Twitter in the last 48 hours to share what he’s heard on Mac Allister. He said that the Red Devils, along with Premier League rivals Chelsea and Liverpool have all approached Mac Allister’s camp, with the player expected to depart the south coast over the coming months.

“Alexis Mac Allister, expected to leave early this summer — understand there are three clubs in the race: Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United.

“These clubs have approached player’s camp to discuss the project. BHAFC will decide price tag soon.”

What would Mac Allister bring to Old Trafford?

We think Mac Allister could offer plenty to Ten Hag, with the 24-year-old turning out in defensive, central and attacking midfield roles during the current campaign.

He has contributed to an impressive 12 goals in 29 games, showing that he has ability in the final third as well as contributing defensively. As per WhoScored, Mac Allister ranks highly for tackles and shots per 90 in the Seagulls' squad and has recently been hailed as 'world class' by members of the media.

Having won the World Cup in the winter and had his best season in front of goal for Brighton this term, he appears to be at the peak of his powers so could come in and immediately make an impact alongside the likes of star midfielders Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes.

Ten Hag will be able to get a closer look at his summer target later this month in an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley, and who knows, he could be turning out under the Dutchman next season, should United pip two of their rivals to his signature over the coming months.

Worcestershire have been cleared of any wrongdoing in the build-up to their County Championship fixture against Kent earlier this month, which was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to a waterlogged outfield.The match, which had been due to take place at New Road between April 10 and 13, was called off by the umpires, Ian Gould and Richard Illingworth, after four consecutive blank days, following heavy rain on the eve of the contest that left the outfield like a “jelly-blancmange”, according to Tim Packwood, the head groundsman.The situation drew an angry response from Kent’s captain, Sam Northeast. “We turned up on the first day and knew pretty much straight away there would be no play over the four days,” he said. “It is unacceptable. This is not bad luck. I’d like to think there could have been something done.”We have had days of sun but not played any cricket. It’s not fair on the fans that travelled, sorted out hotels or taken time off work.”However, following an investigation by the Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC), the chairman Gerard Elias QC exonerated Worcestershire but invited the ECB to consider any actions or safeguards that might prevent a similar occurrence in the future.In particular, Elias found “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.”Despite recognising the “significant financial loss and inconvenience, as well as disappointment, experienced by both counties and their supporters”, Elias was satisfied that reasonable decisions and actions had been taken by the club in the period leading up to the match.Worcestershire’s players, he noted, had been able to practice on both the square and the outfit on the eve of the match and therefore could have reasonably believed that the ground would be fit for play the following day.Worcestershire have been plagued by floods and waterlogged conditions at New Road in recent years. In 2007, another Championship meeting with Kent was washed out without a ball being bowled, after which the club was unable to play at the venue for the final three months of the season.