New Road match abandoned

After two days of frustration at New Road it was hoped that play might finally get under way, but early downpours meant another postponement an hour before the first ball was due to be bowled.

The revelation that New Road was to be used as the venue for the match, due to have started on Sunday, was met with some surprise after the ground was left under feet of water less than two weeks ago.

The England and Wales Cricket Board are to investigate "concerns" raised by Kent on Monday over Worcestershire's attempt to stage the match in Worcester.

Worcestershire chief executive Mark Newton gambled on trying to play the game at the county's headquarters last week rather than switching it to nearby Kidderminster. This was to allow groundstaff the chance to also try to ensure the money-spinning day-night NatWest Pro40 game with Hampshire on Friday could go ahead.

Kent's director of cricket Graham Ford slammed Worcestershire for attempting to host their match at New Road, claiming his side feel "let down" by the hosts.

"There's still a lot of water lying on the ground, quite a few puddles and a lot of slushy mud in very important areas," he told Sky Sports News. "The ground is probably in a worse condition now than it was on day one."

He added: "We feel pretty let down by the whole thing, it has been frustrating and disappointing. We wanted to get out and play four days of first-class cricket in good conditions.

"First-class cricket in England is very high quality and the players deserve to play in suitable conditions, and it looks as though there was no chance of that ever being possible.

"We had other options available and we certainly feel that the game should have been scheduled somewhere else, where there could have been four days of cricket."