Middlesex have expressed their “extreme” disappointment at the circumstances surrounding the cancellation of their final One-Day Cup game against Gloucestershire, with the abandonment a blow to their knockout hopes.
Sign up to The Cricket Draft, powered by Wisden, an all-new, free-to-play fantasy game running alongside The Hundred, to win prizes and compete with your friends.
A Covid-19 outbreak in the Gloucestershire camp left the Bristol-based side with only one player not self-isolating, leading to the game’s postponement. Under the ECB’s regulations, group two in the One-Day Cup will now be decided on a points per game basis, hindering the Seaxes of the chance to mount a late push for qualification.
The North London team currently sit seventh out of nine teams, but victory over Gloucestershire could have seen them break into the top three, with just two points separating them and second-placed Durham. They now have just one game remaining, against Sussex. Victory would leave them on one point per game, which will almost certainly not be enough to secure a place in the next stage.
Middlesex’s frustration appears to stem from their lack of control over the circumstances surrounding the abandonment.
“Middlesex cricket is extremely disappointed to hear of the cancellation of this fixture, which has a massive impact on our hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages of the Royal London Cup,” CEO Andrew Cornish said. “Whilst we have every sympathy with Gloucestershire’s situation, as we all endeavour to handle the impact of Covid on our playing groups, as a club Middlesex have taken every possible step to mitigate any Covid risk to our players, and to hear that our opponents tomorrow are only able to field one player not in isolation is extremely disappointing.
“In discussions with the ECB we have made every effort to get tomorrow’s game on, to no avail, and to have our campaign impacted in this way is saddening.”
The club have suggested they may pursue further action. “We will continue to discuss this situation with the ECB in the hope of a more satisfactory resolution for Middlesex Cricket,” Cornish said.
Middlesex president Mike Selvey suggested Gloucestershire should be made to forfeit the game, given their inability to field a side. “A team that doesn’t put a side out? Bottom line is you forfeit surely,” he tweeted.
He also labelled the competition’s regulations as “arcane” and suggested there might be more “controversy” to come. “Plenty of arcane rules in recreational cricket leagues but I bet you’d struggle to find one where a side that can’t field a team could gain more than the one they were due to play,” he tweeted. “And just wait for the controversy at the top when the RL table is finalised.”
Deciding a table on points per game can benefit the teams with fewer games played near the top of the table. As an example, a team with eight points from seven games will have a higher PPG than a team with nine points from eight games, despite each having won and lost the same number of matches.
There have been other Covid cancellations in county cricket before now, with the inaugural edition of the Bob Willis Trophy and the north group of the 2021 T20 Blast group stages each decided on a points per game basis.
