ECB reject Middlesex's request for match replay

The ECB have rejected Middlesex's call to have Sunday's Friends Provident Trophy match against Somerset at Lord's replayed, despite the on-field umpires admitting they made a mistake in in allowing Somerset, who won the game by five wickets, too many Powerplay overs.

Middlesex scored 341 for 5 in their 50 overs, but Somerset's target was reduced under Duckworth-Lewis regulations to 290 in 41 overs. That should have meant they had 16 Powerplay overs but the umpires permitted them 19.

Vinny Codrington, Middlesex's chief executive, said that during the extra overs, Somerset went from being behind the asking rate to being ahead of it. "It's been accepted that this was an error by the umpires and we have requested for the match to be replayed," he said. "We wish to stress that we are in no way blaming the umpires. We strongly believe in the authority of the umpires and are in no way questioning their integrity. We simply believe that they have made a technical rather than a cricketing error and have asked the ECB to consider this situation, the result of which could decide on our participation in the quarter finals."

The ECB, however, have rejected the request. "After consideration and following an approach from Middlesex, the England and Wales Cricket Board have decided to uphold the precedent that umpire errors cannot form the basis to declare a match null and void," a statement read. "ECB has great sympathy for the position in which Middlesex has been placed but a replay cannot be ordered in these circumstances."

Middlesex's fate in the competition now rests on tomorrow's match between Warwickshire and Kent. If Warwickshire win, Middlesex will be out, whereas if Kent are victorious, the quarter-final placing will be decided on the net run-rates.