Leicestershire face an instantaneous return to division two of the county championship after they had been penalised 27 factors for producing a ‘poor’ pitch for the go to of Glamorgan final month – with an ‘unscheduled’ Bollywood filming occasion partly guilty.
The penalty consists of eight factors for the substandard floor, plus the 19 they collected for successful the sport.
It additionally features a additional eight-point deduction suspended by a yr and a high-quality of £5,000, and leaves them going through a near-impossible process to keep away from relegation, having been promoted in 2025 after 22 years away from the highest flight.
The membership’s head groundsman, Callum Lewin, instructed the Cricket Regulator – earlier than the CDP tribunal – that there had been ‘circumstances main as much as the sport that had been simply out of my management’.
‘We had an unscheduled Bollywood filming occasion 4 days earlier than (the match vs Glamorgan), and I wasn’t allowed to work on the pitch. I wasn’t allowed to cowl it or something,’ he stated.
The Bollywood occasion in query was the biopic of Indian cricket legend Sourav Ganguly, although Leicestershire insisted when approached by Every day Mail Sport that it was scheduled and that groundsman Lewin merely misspoke.
Indian cricket legend Saurav Ganguly filmed his biopic on Leicestershire’s cricket pitch – and it has contributed to their 27-point sanction for a ‘poor’ enjoying floor
Leicestershire had been docked 27 factors for the unsatisfactory floor for the Glamorgan match
Two essential elements had been the Bollywood occasion, which passed off at Grace Highway 4 days earlier than the beginning of the match, and the recent climate, which meant the pitch began dry. Head coach Alfonso Thomas admitted it had been ‘a bit drier than what we needed’, whereas his Glamorgan counterpart, Richard Dawson, stated it had been ‘powerful’ for batters. Leicestershire, who received by 42 runs, made 151 and 257, and Glamorgan 251 and 214.
Leicestershire stated they ‘famous’ the choice by the unbiased Cricket Self-discipline Panel and had been ‘contemplating all out there choices’. They’ve 10 days to enchantment.
Leicestershire may need misplaced eight extra factors had the Cricket Regulator deemed the pitch deliberate.
A part of their judgment learn: ‘The tribunal additionally takes into consideration Leicestershire’s full co-operation with the Cricket Regulator’s investigation, the truth that there was no intention to intentionally create a pitch with uneven bounce and the acute climate circumstances which do quantity to some mitigation. This was not a case of dishonest.’
However the quantity of uneven bounce in the course of the sport left match referee Ian Ramage with little choice however to ask the ECB’s pitch and grounds advisor Andy Mackay to hold out an inspection after the match.
Leicestershire’s solely hope of survival is to win their ongoing sport in opposition to Hampshire, then see off title hopefuls Warwickshire within the final spherical of matches, whereas hoping different outcomes go their method.
