? ECB move follows Glamorgan missing cash deadline
? Bidding process opens to other international grounds
Cardiff will lose its Test against the West Indies next year and the match will be put back out to tender, the England and Wales Cricket Board has confirmed. The decision was made by the ECB management board after Glamorgan failed to meet an end-of-June deadline for paying the staging fee for hosting this season's Test between England and Sri Lanka in Cardiff.
Glamorgan lost more than �1m on that Test, in part due to bad weather. Poor attendances prompted questions over whether South Wales had enough public interest to support regular Test cricket.
Lord's believes that is have a right to host the West Indies Test, which was awarded controversially to Glamorgan, whose bid was substantially lower than the MCC's, of �1m. But Lord's will now have to join a bidding process that will be open to all-comers.
All bids to stage international cricket are assessed according to a balanced "scorecard" that is based on finance, ticket prices, logistics, geography and facilities, but the reasoning behind Cardiff's successful bid has never been explained.
The ECB chief executive, David Collier, said: "This decision has been taken following close consultation with Glamorgan CCC and with a view to assisting the club in developing a sustainable long-term business plan for staging international cricket. [The] ECB recognises that the club has made considerable investment into developing and upgrading the Swalec Stadium and that this has brought considerable benefits to the wider game in England and Wales.
"Glamorgan CCC has assured [the] ECB that it will fully comply with the terms of the staging agreement in relation to its future international matches and further discussions will take place between both parties to ensure that the club continues to remain on a sound financial footing.
"While it will not be permitted to stage the West Indies Test match next year, the club will continue to host a one-day international against India later this summer and South Africa next year. It will also be free to bid for the ECB's new match packages for 2013-2016 along with all other international venues and any application received will be considered on its merits."
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