Dutch Hoofdklasse club HCC has been unsuccessful in its attempt to have the result of the controversial match against Voorburg at Westvliet on 24 June overturned.

The KNCB Appeals Committee has rejected an HCC claim that the Bond’s board had been wrong to confirm the outcome of the game, which was won by Voorburg on the Duckworth/Lewis method.

HCC had been bowled out for 99, and Voorburg were 57 for two after 13.3 overs, so far ahead of the D/L par score that they had already reached the target for 20 overs should the game be resumed. Because of an ambiguity in the competition rules, however, the umpires ordered the players to return to the field with just enough time left for the remaining overs to be bowled, and the game was completed with Voorburg finishing on 87 for three.

The HCC claim did not deny that Voorburg deserved to win, but argued that the umpires were wrong to rule that the game could continue with sufficient time left for the remaining 6.3 overs to be bowled. In view of the time and the prevailing conditions, the match should have been abandoned.

The response of the KNCB was that under Law 3.8 of the Laws of Cricket the umpires are 'the final judges of the fitness of the ground, weather and light for play'. It might be that in this case their judgement was flawed, but there were no grounds for overturning their decision.

The Appeals Committee grounded its decision on Law 21.10, which states that 'Once the umpires have agreed with the scorers the correctness of the scores at the conclusion of the match . . . the result thereafter cannot be changed.'

On this basis, it determined, the HCC claim must fail.