Northants escape pitch penalty

Northamptonshire escaped any penalty for the state of their Wantage Road pitch after Matthew Hayden staged a batting masterclass to leave his Northamptonshire side in charge against Essex.

The tall Australian cracked a six and 17 fours in his magnificent 164 off 260 balls as Northants closed on 337 for seven, a lead of 104 with two days remaining.

And Hayden's men were able to celebrate their promotion into Division One, albeit 24 hours late, following the ECB pitch panel's decision not to order a deduction of points.

Phil Sharpe, the Board's Pitch Liason Officer, said: "During the cricket on the first day the ball turned sufficiently to warrant a further inspection, and I asked for a second opinion."

"Having seen the cricket on the second day, along with Alan Smith, we came to the conclusion that this was not a substandard pitch and did not warrant a rating of poor."

Hayden and David Sales (61) posted 122 in 34 overs for the third wicket after off-spinner Tim Mason had removed Adrian Rollins and Jeff Cook cheaply.

Sales struck nine boundaries in his 109-ball knock before edging Peter Such to slip, but Hayden powered on and gave a superb demonstration of footwork and concentration, securing three batting bonus points.

"It has been a stressful day for us. Now we can celebrate a bit," commented Northants' relieved Director of Cricket Bob Carter when the panel's findings were eventually announced shortly after tea.