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Dangerous Cardiff pitch forces abandonment

The Royal London Cup match between Glamorgan and Hampshire at Cardiff was abandoned after the umpires deemed the pitch unplayable

Hampshire 26 for 0 trail Glamorgan 182 for 9 (Ingram 51, Dawson 3-21) - Match abandoned
Scorecard
The Royal London Cup match between Glamorgan and Hampshire at Cardiff was abandoned after the umpires deemed the pitch unplayable. Michael Carberry and Jimmy Adams, the Hampshire openers, were both struck by rising deliveries and the game was called off after 6.4 overs of the second innings.
The standing umpires, Paul Baldwin and Neil Mallender, consulted with the captains after Adams was struck on the side of the head when playing forward to a length delivery from Glamorgan seamer Michael Hogan. Hampshire were 26 for 0 chasing 183 to win, with Carberry having received treatment after also been hit on the helmet in Hogan's second over.
The match was being televised by Sky, due to the third Ashes Test finishing early, and cricket liaison officer Tony Pigott explained the decision. "The situation is the two umpires have decided that the pitch is unplayable, it's unfit and have called the game off," Pigott said. "It's very dry and it's turned in the first innings, it's unpredictable bounce."
Hugh Morris, Glamorgan's chief executive and director of cricket, called it "a dark day for the club" and promised an inquiry into what had happened.
While a no result would normally see both sides awarded a point, the ECB was expected to carry out an investigation that could result in sanctions. Glamorgan started the Royal London Cup group stage with a two-point deduction after being punished for producing a poor pitch in last season's competition - the pitch used on this occasion was the same one.
"We are desperately disappointed," Morris said, "the umpires determined it to be a dangerous pitch and they were right in making that determination. We are extremely sorry to everyone watching the game and there will be a full refund and full inquiry.
"This was a fresh pitch on Friday against Essex and we scored almost 300 and the pitch was rated above average. It's not unusual for us to use a pitch twice and it gave no indication it would play the way it did.
"We were always going to use this pitch regardless of Sky being here. We are going to discuss what has gone wrong internally and we will do that immediately.
"This is something that we are desperately disappointed at. We were in a good position in this competition and playing some good cricket. We will find out what went wrong as quick as we can."
Jacques Rudolph, Glamorgan's captain, had been unwilling to take off Hogan in favour of a slow bowler and said the umpires had made the "right decision". Hampshire captain James Vince consulted with Adams and Carberry before agreeing to the abandonment.
"The whole situation isn't ideal, it's a real shame for both teams and the crowd," Adams said. "One had slightly gone up at Carbs a bit earlier and a few maybe in the Glamorgan innings too but nothing too bad. You play in wickets all the time that offer a bit of variable bounce but that one was pretty extreme and I think that was why there was a general meeting."
Cardiff was the venue for the opening Test of the Investec Ashes, when variable bounce was a feature of the surface as England won inside four days.
Instances of matches being abandoned due to the pitch are rare. In late 2014, a one-day cup fixture at Benoni was called off, while South Africa's provincial T20 tournament saw an abandonment in Bloemfontein earlier in the year. An ODI between India and Sri Lanka in Delhi was stopped in 2009 and, famously, the Kingston Test in 1998 came to a premature end with England 17 for 3 after 10.1 overs, an uneven Sabina Park surface causing several batsman to be struck.
Glamorgan had managed to get through their 50 overs, despite being 102 for 7 at one stage. Colin Ingram made a half-century but was the only member of the top six to reach double-figures, while Hampshire's trio of spinners, Liam Dawson, Mason Crane and Will Smith, collectively took 6 for 76 from 25 overs as Glamorgan struggled to 182 for 9.