Chiefs face up to Yorkshire row

England and Yorkshire cricket officials stand accused of incompetence following the postponement of last night's Twenty20 Cup quarter-final against Durham.

Thousands of fans were already inside the Riverside ground when the game was called off 12 minutes before the start because Yorkshire had fielded an ineligible player, 17-year-old Azeem Rafiq, in a group match 10 days earlier. The ECB disciplinary panel are set to meet on Thursday to decide what action to take, although chief executive David Collier claimed the incident stemmed from Yorkshire's failure to register Rafiq as a first-class player.

"The panel's powers could lead to fines, disqualification, replaying the match," Collier said.

But the ECB knew last Friday they did not have registration details for Rafiq, who captained England Under-15s despite holding only a Pakistan passport.

Meanwhile, Essex golden boy Graham Napier was in sensational form again in the Twenty20 Cup at Chelmsford last night.

The 28-year-old, who crashed 152 not out against Sussex a fortnight ago, hit 40 off 20 balls and then claimed four for 10 as Northants were beaten by 59 runs.