Walker: ECB need to look at pitch switch

Kent cricket

Kent head coach Matt Walker said there were questions to answer after the match last week against Derbyshire at Chesterfield was abandoned without a ball bowled. Umpires Stephen Gale and Billy Taylor decided there could be no play on day four after heavy rain on Thursday only added to the already saturated outfield at Queen’s Park. The match had been scheduled to be played at the club’s County Ground headquarters in Derby but Derbyshire switched the fixture to Queen’s Park because there were concerns a Boyzone pop concert at the County Ground on Saturday night could have damaged the outfield. After heavy rain on Monday night left the Chesterfield ground waterlogged, there was little chance of the game going ahead and Walker said: “It’s disappointing because everyone has something to play for. “We were looking to give someone a debut this week and people are playing for milestones and places. “Everyone has things to prove at this back end of the season and as I said before this game, we wanted to finish on a bit of a high with a couple of wins. “But when we turned up on day one, we all knew we weren’t going to bowl a ball on here for the four days and probably not for another four days because it’s just not in a fit state to play cricket. “I’m not going to get into reasons as to why they did it, that’s up to the ECB to ask those questions but it is disappointing.” He added: “We weren’t in a promotion hunt, had we been, everyone would have been livid about the situation but that’s not the point, really. “Everyone has different reasons for wanting to impress at this time of year. I don’t want anyone to get punished and I’m not saying throw the book at anybody but it definitely needs looking at in the future.”