Gloucestershire CCC v Northamptonshire CCC
29th August 2024, County Championship, Division 2
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) referred concerns raised in the above County Championship match to the Cricket Regulator. The match commenced at Bristol on Thursday 29th August 2024, but was initially suspended and then abandoned by the umpires on day 1.
The Cricket Regulator has conducted a full investigation, interviewing the match officials, captains, coaches, and grounds staff. The Regulator has viewed live stream footage and benefitted from an expert technical report.
The Cricket Regulator was satisfied, as a result of those enquiries, that the bounce was significantly uneven and dangerous to the players. The Cricket Regulator therefore fully supports the decisions taken by the match officials to abandon the match in the circumstances with which they were presented.
However, the Cricket Regulator is satisfied that Gloucestershire CCC have demonstrated that they sought, acting reasonably, to prepare the best quality pitch that they could for the match they were staging.
As a result, no charges will be brought on this occasion.
The Cricket Regulator does however expect Gloucestershire CCC to take steps to prevent issues of this nature arising in the future. The pitch advisor who investigated the pitch at Bristol will offer to provide support to Gloucestershire CCC moving forward.