Rains cause a million rand loss to local unit

Johannesburg: Incessant rain in Gauteng province of South Africa is likely to cause the Gauteng Cricket Board (GCB) a loss of nearly one million rands on the final Test match between South Africa and New Zealand. Most of the match had to be abandoned due to rain. The GCB had not insured the Test against financial loss, as it usually does with One-day Internationals. GCB treasurer Roger Hothgard said the Board had hoped to take in between 1.5 and 1.7 million rands during the five days of the match. However, three of those days had to be abandoned. Hothgard said the costs of security, catering and other fixed costs were commitments that had to be met regardless of collections. The GCB had suffered a loss of around 800,000 rands after rains played spoilsport in the final Test between South Africa and England last year. India Abroad News Service