Leicestershire have been confirmed as relegated from the first division of the County Championship after their appeal against a points deduction penalty was rejected. The club was penalised for a poorly prepared pitch in their match against Glamorgan.
The Independent Cricket Disciplinary Panel imposed an initial penalty of 27 points during the penultimate match of the season in mid-September. Leicestershire had all 19 points earned in their victory over Glamorgan deducted, with an additional eight-point penalty imposed. The club was also given a further eight points on probation and a fine of £5,000. This dropped them to the bottom of the table before they were finally relegated eight days later, subject to appeal.
Their appeal gained momentum shortly after the end of the season when eight points were restored after the Cricket Regulator raised questions with the disciplinary panel. For more than five weeks, Leicestershire's relegation and the survival of Essex, who finished 17 points above the Foxes, remained in doubt.
The appeal panel upheld the disciplinary court's decision to strip Leicestershire of the 19 points earned in their win against Glamorgan because they "failed to show that they acted reasonably in preparing the pitch", which was deemed "poor" and "below standard". The panel also rejected Leicestershire's attempt to introduce new evidence – presented by Pakistan Cricket Board chief curator Tony Hemmings – stating that the "club was the author of its own misfortune".
The panel's view was that there was a "sad lack of understanding" of the regulations by those responsible at Leicestershire. "The TH's (Hemmings's) evidence was reasonably available at the time of that hearing and we reject Mr Harris's contrary assertion", the panel's findings stated. "Senior managers in a professional cricket club should be familiar with the regulations or at least reminded of them as needed. This was not done here."
Leicestershire's chief executive Emma White said it was "extremely frustrating" that expert evidence was not heard, adding that the club "felt rushed and under significant pressure throughout the process". "We are extremely disappointed with this outcome, but we will not let it define us", she added in a statement on the club's website.
Leicestershire's 42-run victory over Glamorgan on 23 August was only their second of the season and they believed it would help them in the fight to avoid immediate return to the second tier. The state of the pitch, which Glamorgan head coach Richard Dawson described at the time as "tough" for batters, was immediately scrutinised as the umpires requested Andy Mackay, England and Wales Cricket Board pitch and ground advisor, to conduct an inspection after the match ended. The highest team total in the match was Leicestershire's 257 all out in the second innings.
Leicestershire head coach Alfonso Thomas claimed the surface was prepared in the same way as the pitch used against Yorkshire – a match the Foxes won by one wicket and 39 runs in June – but also admitted it was "a bit drier than we wanted" for the game against Glamorgan. Leicestershire's head groundsman Callum Lewin told the cricket regulator that there were "circumstances leading up to the match that were beyond my control". This included exceptionally hot summer weather, as well as an "unplanned Bollywood filming event" held at Uptonsteel Grace Road days before the start of the match. It was said that "preparations for this were chaotic", and another member of the ground staff, Mark Smith, said that the 13 hours the pitch was left uncovered was "crazy".
Foxes chief executive White said the ground team had her "full support" and added: "I remain extremely proud of the work they do". "We will be ready to fight in the second division and earn our return by pre-season", she continued.
