Go Exchange 365 Login Registration readers can follow the latest County Championship story as Leicestershire face a major points deduction. The club has lost 27 points after a Cricket Discipline Panel ruling over the pitch used against Glamorgan in August.
Leicestershire Face a Tough Situation
The penalty removes the 19 points Leicestershire earned from their win over Glamorgan. The club also received an eight-point penalty and a £5,000 fine. Another eight-point deduction has been suspended for 12 months.
Leicestershire have 10 days to appeal the decision. The ruling also moved them to the bottom of Division One during their penultimate match of the season against Hampshire.
Goexchange readers can follow the points-table impact as the club considers its next steps. The deduction could have a major effect on Leicestershire’s position at the end of the season.
Pitch Problems Led to the Charge
The Cricket Regulator rated the Grace Road pitch as poor. The main concern was uneven bounce caused by moving cracks and localised collapses around those cracks.
The match referee, Ian Ramage, recorded 43 examples of uneven bounce during the match. Ball marks and large areas of grass also affected the surface.
The club accepted that the pitch was below the required standard. However, the panel considered the preparation process when deciding the size of the punishment.
Why the Pitch Became Difficult
Leicestershire had tried to prepare a surface similar to the one used against Yorkshire in June. That match had ended with a big Leicestershire victory.
For the Glamorgan game, the pitch had 3mm of grass at both ends and around 16mm in the middle. The surface had also hosted two T20 matches during the previous 10 weeks.
Hot weather had dried the soil. This made the pitch harder and increased the risk of cracks.
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Grounds Team Raised Concerns
Head grounds manager Callum Lewin told The Regulator that the pitch was not the surface he would have chosen under those conditions. He also raised concerns about moisture levels and the small plates created by the cracks.
Leicestershire argued that a Bollywood film shoot four days before the match had stopped the pitch from being covered for eight hours. The Regulator did not accept this as a strong mitigating factor.
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Appeal Could Follow
GoExch9 remains separate from the cricket report, which now turns to Leicestershire’s response. The club can appeal the 27-point deduction within 10 days.
The panel said Leicestershire did not intend to create an unsafe or uneven surface. However, it found that the pitch preparation did not meet the required standard.
The decision leaves Leicestershire with a difficult fight to protect their Division One status. Their appeal and final matches will now be closely watched.