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Cuts call for cancelled game to be rescheduled

Title contenders in the Logic 50-Over League, Willow Cuts, have appealed to Bermuda Cricket Board (BCB) to have last weekend’s cancelled match with Devonshire Rec rescheduled.The reigning Western Counties and Knockout Cup champions’ match at the Rec was called off due to steady showers.Match umpires initially reduced the match to 34 overs per side after the rain briefly subsided with Devonshire winning the toss and sending Cuts to bat. But the game never started as the rain returned and continued past the cut-off time.The teams were each awarded five points after the umpires pulled the plug on the match shortly after 4pm.The cancellation enabled St David’s to replace Cuts at the top of the table following their three-wicket win against St George’s at Wellington Oval.Cuts batsman and assistant coach Dexter Basden confirmed that his club had approached the BCB seeking to have the match rescheduled.“We have appealed because the game was never started and with all these bonus points involved for batting and bowling not being able to play puts both teams at a disadvantage,” he said.According to league playing conditions, “Games that do not take place at the scheduled time and place will not be replayed. The Board, however, under exceptional circumstances has the right to order games to be replayed. Such circumstances will include without limitation acts of God or any incident that prevents access to the ground”.Devonshire manager Dennis Williams said his club have left the matter in the hands of the Board.“Devonshire’s position is that the (BCB) technical committee should rule on this as the rules clearly state that rained out matches are considered no result and five points are awarded to each team,” he said. “However, if the committee rules that it should be replayed then that’s what we’ll go with. Our concern is what if other games are rained out during the course of the season will the same thing apply to all and replays be ordered as well?”BCB Cricket Committee chairman and first-vice president Nyon Steede suggested that the matter could be dealt with as early as this week.“The Cricket Committee is holding a meeting on Wednesday night of this week and any submissions from either club will be addressed at that time,” he said.Sunday’s match was the only one affected by rain, a freak of nature that Basden had never before experienced in a career spanning decades.“I have never seen anything like that before,” he said. “It was only raining at Devonshire Rec and I couldn’t understand it.”Williams added: “It was the weirdest cloud I’ve ever seen, it just sat there.“I have never seen that happen in cricket. I’ve seen it rain on one side of the road and not the other ... but never where one cricket game had been rained out.”Second-placed Cuts currently trail league leaders St David’s by two points while winless Devonshire are 11th in the 13-team division.