The county were upset that the umpires, Chris Balderstone and David Constant, decided to play through torrential rain so that 10 overs could be completed in the Sussex innings, guaranteeing a result, and that when play finally resumed, they needed an impossible 80 off four overs.
John Carr, the ECB's operations manager, has told Sussex that their complaints are without foundation. He said the umpires were ``well justified on this particular occasion'' in playing on, but the board are to offer umpires more precise guidelines on how they should act in similar circumstances to ensure consistency.
``As far as the run-rate is concerned, you have to ask whether Sussex should have been in a position to retrieve the game from a position of 39 for four,'' said Carr. The loss of wickets is a key feature in making the target tougher.
The board remained convinced that the Duckworth-Lewis method for deciding targets in rain-affected matches is easily the best available, but are trying to avoid accusations of being dogmatic.
``It's a bit of a culture change,'' said Carr. ``We're still looking and learning and asking counties for their opinion at the end of the season.
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IT'S not quite the sort of Ashes meeting to which W G Grace or Victor Trumper would have related: Graham Gooch and Greg Matthews gathering at Lord's on the eve of the second Test to talk about their new hair.
Gooch and Matthews have both been given help up top and they will, doubtless, be singing the praises of the Advanced Hair Studio's non-implant, non-wig procedure. They may even be persuaded to discuss cricket.
The Wednesday leg of the 'Hair Tour' takes them from the down-to-earth sounding venue of Unit One, Romford Business Centre, to the banqueting suite at Lord's. Further hair-raising engagements are being held in Birmingham, Nottingham, Manchester, Leeds, Reading and Bristol.
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A ROSES battle with a difference will take place on July 21. Not only will Lancashire meet Yorkshire in a day-night match at Old Trafford, but the 50-overs-a-side game will also feature split innings so that both teams bat under floodlights.
Prize money of £10,000 is up for grabs and organisers hope to attract a crowd of 10,000-plus for a match which will offend purists further by greeting incoming batsmen with their chosen theme tune.
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THE death of Graham Kersey at the end of last year is still keenly felt by his Surrey team-mates but it was in Kent where he made his mark as a schoolboy and a charity match is being held in his memory in Bexley tomorrow.
Kersey, who was playing Grade cricket in Brisbane, was killed in a car crash on New Year's Eve.
Bexley are taking on a celebrity-studded Bumbury XI in a match starting at 2.30pm. It is also hoped that former Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin will add cricketing pedigree to the occasion. Kersey's father, Dom, has selected the cricket section of the British Blind Sports Association as one of the two benefiting charities.
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LAST week's item about cricketing triplets in Barnsley took one reader's mind all the way back to 1939.
Derek Oakley, MBE, was playing for King's College School, Wimbledon, Junior School against Whifgift.
He writes: ``My diary relates that I bowled one over and took four wickets, not including a hat-trick, but it did include triplets.''
Mr Oakley finished with the immaculate figures of 1-1-0-4 . . . and then became a wicketkeeper.
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THE phenomenal success of CricInfo in the world of the Internet was highlighted in this column three weeks ago. Now Lord's has got in on the act.
A new website, proudly touted as the first joint venture between the England and Wales Cricket Board and Marylebone Cricket Club was launched on Thursday, called Lord's, the Home of Cricket.
The site will include Laws of the Game, live scores, and balcony interviews with players.
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