PPP healthcare County Championship: Derbyshire v Hampshire at
Derby, 15-18 September 1999
21-Sep-1999
PPP healthcare County Championship: Derbyshire v Hampshire at
Derby, 15-18 September 1999.
Following a formal request from Warwickshire CCC, The England and
Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have conducted a full investigation
into the play that took place in the above game.
An ECB spokesman said: "After examining the match data and
questioning both Umpires and both Captains at length with regard
to the play that took place on the third day, the ECB Cricket
Department has concluded that the game of cricket was not
'brought into disrepute.' As a result, no action will be taken
against either side.
"The Umpires reported that they were happy with the conduct of
the Captains and teams throughout the duration of the game and
the ECB is keen to emphasise that the reputations of the Captains
should remain untarnished by the events of this match.
"The onset of the Two Division format has had the desired effect
in making the PPP healthcare County Championship intensely
competitive. The tension is at its greatest in the final round of
matches when teams are aware of the points requirements to
achieve their goals.
"The Board will be giving consideration to the appointment of
Match Referees for key matches in the final round and to other
suggested measures to help prevent the integrity of the
Competition being called into question.
"As far as the Derbyshire v Hampshire match is concerned, both
Captains were quite open about the fact that at lunchtime on the
third day they had reached an agreement that Derbyshire would
chase 285 runs in 4 sessions. Whilst this was a relatively early
stage of the match to be reaching such an agreement, the decision
was influenced by the fact that the weather forecast was poor
with the prospect of a significant amount of play being lost.
"Both sides were also desperately keen for the victory, with
Hampshire aiming to secure a Division One place and Derbyshire to
secure prize money for a top four finish. The 'feeding' of runs
to assist in the setting of targets has become an accepted
practice over the years in Championship cricket albeit less
prevalent in the Four-day game and the afternoon session of the
third day set up a highly competitive and exhilarating final
three sessions of play.
"In some quarters of the media it had been suggested that before
lunch on the third day Hampshire had consciously 'assisted'
Derbyshire in their quest for the two batting points that secured
their First Division status. Hampshire strenuously deny this
suggestion and the Umpires have confirmed that the cricket in
this passage of play was competitive. All but two overs in the
session were bowled by 'front-line' bowlers and the sixth bowler
used took a wicket in his brief spell. "