County Championship: Hampshire handed fine and points deduction for ‘substandard pitch’

Hampshire have been given an eight-point deduction in the County Championship and fined £5,000 for a “substandard pitch” during their home match against Sussex in May.

The independent cricket discipline panel (CDP) ruled there was no intent on Hampshire’s part to gain any unfair advantage from the pitch in a match they lost by nine wickets.

But the club had not taken all reasonable steps to produce a pitch of an appropriate standard, an allegation which Hampshire denied.

The CDP say that following the match, the referee completed a pitch report rating the pitch as “below average” in respect of the unevenness of the bounce and assessment of turn., external

The deduction moves Hampshire from fifth to eighth position in the County Championship table.