Hampshire issued points deduction for ECB pitch regulations breach | Cricket News networthplaza.com

A three-point deduction has been handed to Hampshire after the ECB charged the club with with a breach of its pitch regulations for LV= Insurance County Championship match played in July against Essex.

A Cricket Discipline Commission Panel has sanctioned Hampshire CCL for failing to comply with Regulation 8.1 of the ECB Pitch Regulations, which requires each County to actively seek to prepare the best quality cricket pitch that it can for the match that it is staging.

It came after the pitch was rated ‘below average’ by the match referee for the clash against Essex CCC at The Ageas Bowl between 25-27 July.

An independent CDC Panel upheld the charge following a hearing on Wednesday, and issued a £5,000 fine along with the immediate points deduction of three points.

The panel also issued a further 20-point deduction for the 2024 County Championship season, suspended until the last day of that season. Those suspended points will be deducted if the club commits any further breach of the pitch regulations in relation to the County Championship on or before that date.

A fully reasoned decision will be issued “in due course” by the CDC panel, after which there will be 14 days to lodge any appeal.