Leicestershire’s relegation from the County Championship Division One has been confirmed after they failed in their appeal against a points penalty.
In the penultimate match of the season in mid-September, an independent cricket disciplinary panel handed down an initial 27-point penalty for poor fielding against Glamorgan a month earlier.
Leicestershire were stripped of all 19 points they earned in the win over Glamorgan and hit with an additional eight-point penalty – as well as an additional suspended eight-point deduction and a £5,000 fine.
That left them bottom of the table before relegation eight days later – pending an appeal.
Their appeal received a boost just after the end of the season after the Regulator for Cricket restored eight points after raising questions with the disciplinary panel.
However, after just over five weeks, Leicestershire’s relegation and Essex’s survival, 17 points above the Foxes, remained in limbo.
The appeal panel upheld Leicestershire’s 19 points against Glamorgan after they “failed to show that they acted reasonably in preparing the pitch” which was deemed “poor” and “substandard”.
The panel also rejected Leicestershire’s attempt to bring fresh evidence, presented by Pakistan Cricket Board chief curator Tony Hemmings, saying “the club is the author of its own misfortune”.
The panel’s “view” was that the rules were “not fully understood” by those in charge in Leicestershire.
“TH’s (Hemmings) evidence was reasonable at that hearing and we reject it [Leicestershire’s legal representative] Mr. Harris’ confirmation to the contrary,” the panel said in its findings., external
“Senior executives at a professional cricket club should be familiar with the regulations or at least be reminded of them as circumstances may require. This has not been done here.”
Leicestershire chief executive Emma White said it was “deeply disappointing” that expert evidence had not been heard, adding that the club had “felt rushed and under significant pressure throughout this process”.
“We are very disappointed with this result, but we will not let it define us,” he said on the club’s website., external