West Indies make written complaint over Rajkot result

More than a week after India were 'awarded' the third one day in their current seven-game series with the West Indies, and the multitudes of protesting voices in the Caribbean, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has written to the International Cricket Council (ICC), to register its "strong disappointment and protest."

In what was considered a strange decision by many, the ICC-appointed Match Referee, Mike Procter, awarded India victory over West Indies in the third limited-overs international after the match was interrupted for the third consecutive time following unruly crowd behaviour.

Chasing 301 to win, India was 200 for one in 27.1 overs when poor crowd behaviour resulted in the third limited-overs international at Rajkot being brought to a premature end on November 12 and the home team being declared winners by 81 runs using the Duckworth/Lewis method.

But the WICB has objected to Procter's use of the Duckworth/Lewis method to determine the winner of the match and believes that a no-result would have been a more reasonable ruling in the circumstances.

"(There is) no basis in merit, as the match was not interrupted by rain or any other force of nature," Rev Wes Hall, president of the WICB, stated in the letter addressed to ICC Chief Executive Officer Malcolm Speed.

"If we accept the foregoing then the Match Referee's decision has set a dangerous precedent by paving the way for unruly crowds to influence the outcome of matches. We cannot entertain this possibility."

The final and deciding match of the series will be contested at Vijayawada on Sunday. West Indies won the first, second and fifth internationals, while India won the third, fourth and sixth matches.