The abandonment of the Twenty20 international between England and Australia on Tuesday night was made to look even more questionable when Lancashire and Sussex played on the same pitch without trouble at Old Trafford yesterday morning.
Chris Wood, the ECB pitches inspector, visited the ground yesterday as part of the board's inquiry into the abandonment. By the time he carried out an examination of the muddy area that had been the source of concern on Tuesday, 28 overs had been played.
The international match, which had attracted a sell-out crowd of 19,500, had been called off because of a small soft patch around the bowlers' take-off area at the Brian Statham End. That decision, made by the umpires, Nigel Llong and Peter Hartley, in conjunction with the captains, Paul Collingwood and Michael Clarke, was heavily criticised by Jim Cumbes, the Lancashire chief executive, who believed that conditions had been playable.
Yesterday morning, after a brief delay caused by rain, play started at 10.45 and Robin Martin-Jenkins, the Sussex seam bowler, opened from the Brian Statham End and experienced little difficulty from the muddy patch. He described his take-off from near the affected area as “absolutely fine” and bowled an 11-over opening spell.
“The damp area was covered in sawdust and was still stodgy, but I was lucky that I took off before it and landed after it,” Martin-Jenkins said. “It might have been different for, say, Brett Lee. By all accounts, it had improved from the previous evening. But Andrew Hodd, our 'keeper, did comment that it was quite slippy for him as he tried to move either way at the Brian Statham End.”
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Wood examined the affected area at lunchtime with Cumbes and Matthew Merchant, the groundsman. He will deliver a report on his findings to the ECB management board, which will pass its views on to the Major Match Group, the body that allocates international fixtures to venues.
Lancashire will be anxious about the report, because they are hoping to stage one of the two Test matches to be played in England next July between Australia and Pakistan and are also bidding for one of the three Ashes Tests in 2013 yet to be allocated.
Andy Flower, the England team director, yesterday defended the umpires' decision to abandon Tuesday's game. “The terms and conditions were for an international cricket match, played at high pace and intensity,” Flower said. “The umpires didn't think conditions were there for that intensity. If people had wanted an exhibition, it would have to be different terms agreed by the two boards [of England and Australia].”
The loss of both Twenty20 internationals against Australia has denied England valuable match practice before the World Twenty20, which starts in the West Indies on April 30. The two 20-over matches at the start of the tour to South Africa in November could now be the only chance for them to play the shortest format before they travel to the Caribbean.
In those circumstances, it is likely that England's Twenty20 team will closely mirror the side for one-day internationals as they search for a settled combination. The seven-match NatWest Series of 50-over contests against Australia begins at the Brit Oval tomorrow.
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Australia will start the series without Ricky Ponting, the captain, who is due to return for the fourth match at Lord's after spending time at home in Australia in the wake of the Ashes defeat. He will find himself without Tim Nielsen, the Australia coach, who has also been granted time to return home. For the final three matches of the series, Troy Cooley, the bowling coach, will stand in for Nielsen.
After handing the reins to Collingwood for the Twenty20 internationals, Andrew Strauss will be the England captain for the NatWest Series. His outstanding form since taking on the captaincy was recognised yesterday when he was named as a nominee for ICC cricketer of the year. Graham Onions is also on the shortlist for that award, while the fast bowler is among the nominees for emerging player of the year. The awards ceremony will be held in Johannesburg on October 1.