The abandoned Eerste Klasse match between HCC 2 and Hermes-DVS 2, which ended in controversy on 8 July, will have to be replayed.

The umpires’ report on the game, which they called off nine overs into the Hermes innings on the grounds of misbehaviour by the HCC fieldsmen, was referred by the KNCB board to its Disciplinary Committee. HCC 2 had made 287, and Hermes were 53 for one when the umpires walked off.

According to their report, there had been excessive sledging from early in the innings, but the situation deteriorated after an appeal for a catch behind against Hermes opener Berry de Raaij. Personal remarks were directed at the batsmen, and the umpires intervened. This appears to have made the atmosphere worse, with allegations of bias against the umpires.

The final straw came with a high bouncer which was called as a no ball, and amid further recriminations the umpires left the field and called the match off. No disciplinary charges were laid against individuals.

A letter submitted to the KNCB by HCC 2 captain Taco Platenburg acknowledged that members of his team had made unacceptable remarks, and stated he had actually moved one player away from the inner circle because of his behaviour. But he also alleged that in a collision between a Hermes batsman and an HCC bowler the latter had been struck by the bat.

The Disciplinary Committee, however, was confronted with the problem that the umpires’ report did not conform to the requirements of the competition rules in that, having been submitted by e-mail, it was not signed by the umpires and the captains. In these circumstances, they had no alternative but to dismiss the case on procedural grounds.

This put the ball back into the court of the KNCB board. But with the circumstances surrounding the abandonment a matter of dispute and no technically valid report to work with they decided that there were no grounds for awarding the match to either side.

The game will therefore be replayed, in the same way that Eerste Klasse matches which are rained off are rescheduled for a subsequent date.

The case is one in a series of disputes which have affected Dutch domestic cricket this season. Last week one match in the Overgangsklasse (effectively the Third Division) was abandoned amidst claims of abuse, while the result of another is being contested by the side which was initially deemed to have lost.