Kent to face Essex in Twenty20 semis, while Middlesex await Yorkshire appeal
Middlesex Crusaders must wait to see who they will face in the semi-finals of the Twenty20 after they became the latest side involved in the row of Yorkshire's expulsion from the competition.
The initial draw for finals day, which takes place at the Rose Bowl on July 26, pitted Kent against Essex, but the outcome is less clear for the Lord's-based outfit, who must wait to see who their opponents will be.
Take that: Kent's Darren Stevens hits Warwickshire's Ian Salisbury for four during his match-winning innings in the quarter-finals
Yorkshire were yesterday ejected from the competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board's discipline commission after fielding Azeem Rafiq, a 17-year-old England youth international who does not hold a British passport and thus qualifies as an overseas player, in a group match.
The three-man panel ruled that Nottinghamshire, who originally failed to qualify from the group stages, would take the vacant berth in the last eight but Yorkshire have until 5pm today to appeal.
Durham are assured of their spot in the quarters and believe they should be handed a bye into the last four.
Middlesex must prepare for the possibility of facing either of those three sides - plus Glamorgan, who have only a theoretical chance of being reinstated.
