The KNCB filed a formal complaint with the ICC in advance of the two WCL ODIs between Canada and the Netherlands this week, in response to what it claims were ill-prepared and ill-maintained playing facilities at the venue, Maple Leaf Cricket Club in King City, Toronto. The games were played under protest.

Organisational problems at the club became increasingly evident as the games approached as the ICC were forced to scrap their plans to provide a live video stream of the game on their website, apparently due to a petty dispute over scaffolding. Upon arrival, members of the press were informed that no internet facilities would be provided - a long-standing problem at Canadian clubs but nonetheless risible at a ground that aspires to be a recognised international venue. But the focus of the KNCB's complaint, (filed before the start of the first game) is the ground itself, which was rendered unfit for play by overnight rain.

The scene that greeted the teams on arrival was hardly promising. In places parts of the drainage system could apparently be seen protruding inside the boundary, the turf above seemingly eroded away. And if the drainage system was visible, its effects were not. The outfield was sodden almost throughout and in places practically submerged, prompting Netherlands team manager Ed van Nierop to label it the worst ground he had ever seen worldwide. The showers overnight had indeed been heavy - parts of Toronto experienced flooding yesterday - but the real culprit appears to have been inadequate drainage.

Even in bright conditions, standing water on the outfield remained stubbornly in place for hours in spite of the groundstaff's best efforts. KNCB Chairman Jaques Mulders remarked "the field was either not, or not satisfactorily prepared. On a decent ground we could have begun much earlier following the rain." In total less than 38 overs of play were possible over the course of the first two days, and the first match eventually had to be abandoned despite little rain actually falling during the hours of play.

The problem is not a new one. King City is infamous for its drainage problems, which are generally believed to have originated in 2008 when the venue hosted Sri-Lanka, Pakistan and Zimbabwe in a Quadrangular Twenty20 Series - and the outfield was used as a car park. The consequent damage to the drainage system, it would seem, has not since been addressed.

This despite the fact that the club received a substantial portion of the $1 million grant awarded to the Ontario Cricket Association in 2006, supposedly intended to renovate facilities. The grant generated significant controversy at the time, the association apparently having only requested $150,000. The affair eventually forced then Ontario Immigration and Citizenship Minister Mike Colle out of his job as the Canadian press bandied about terms like “slush fund”, and Auditor General Jim McCarter (curiously foreshadowing van Neirop's later comments) described the spending controls on the grants as among "the worst that we've ever seen.”

The club's attempts to distance itself from the scandal faced a major setback three years later, when it emerged that Maple Leaf CC had some significant accounting irregularities of its own. Discrepancies emerged after Ranjit Saini, president of the club between 2007 and 2009, stepped down to join the Cricket Canada board. A police investigation ensued after his successor, Pandit Maharaj, claimed a forensic audit had revealed over $100,000 was unaccounted for.

The truth of the matter remains murky, but it seems clear that whatever work was undertaken has had little effect on the quality of the playing facilities. Taking a cursory glance at the ICC's requirements for international venues, it is difficult to find a single criterion that the ground actually meets. If Maple Leaf CC ever have the good fortune to be blessed with such a windfall again, perhaps it would be best if they were to follow Michael Swart's waggish suggestion, and spend the money turning the place into a dog track.

Cricket Canada has declined to give a statement on the issue as of yet, except to say "We have always had a good relationship with KNCB and this will continue. We understand their concerns and have had discussions with them."