CricInfo Home
News Home

NEWS FOCUS
Rsa in Pak
NZ in India
Zim in Aus

Domestic
Other Series

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have responded to worries over the state of the Old Trafford pitch to be used for the NatWest Trophy quarter-final between Lancashire and Yorkshire on Wednesday by sending Harry Brind, their consultant, to carry out a pre-match inspection.

However, should Brind find the strip unacceptable on his visit on Monday, the ECB have no contingency plans for changing the venue and seem blissfully unaware of the implications of playing on a pitch which, by their own definition, falls short of the required standard.

Peter Marron, the Old Trafford head groundsman, has decided to use the same pitch on which Australia played the West Indies in the World Cup and said: ``I'm pretty confident this one will be all right. We have problems on the square because I am re-laying much of it and we are further restricted by the requirements of television.''

Yorkshire's worries were exacerbated when the captains spun the coin before Lancashire's abandoned floodlight home match with Warwickshire only for the 50p piece to disappear down one of the huge cracks in the surface.

``We are pleased the board are going to have a look at it before the event rather than react afterwards,'' said Bob Platt, the Yorkshire cricket chairman.

Alan Fordham, the ECB spokesman, said: ``Harry would be going to the ground as usual to look at the Test pitch 10 days in advance so we thought it would be best if he went a day earlier. We will not consider any further action until we have had his report.''

Australian seamer Paul Reiffel has announced he is quitting international cricket.

Reiffel, 33, said he had agonised over his decision but with the memory of the World Cup victory fresh, he said he no longer had the hunger to go on at the elite level.

He plans to continue in the Sheffield Shield for Victoria.