NEW DELHI:
Essex
County Cricket Club has been penalized by England's Cricket Regulator for a violation involving one of their players,
Feroze Khushi
, who used a non-compliant bat during a match against Nottinghamshire in April. The club announced on Wednesday that they have been docked 12 points as a result of the incident.
During the match in question, Khushi's Gray-Nicolls bat was inspected by the umpires while he was batting.
The bat failed to meet the required specifications when tested with a bat-gauge. Khushi scored 21 off 27 in that innings before he was asked to replace his bat, Reuters reported.
Despite the bat controversy, Essex managed to secure a convincing 254-run victory over Nottinghamshire in the match, earning them 20 points. However, the points deduction imposed by the Cricket Regulator means that the club will now have to adjust their standings in the
County Championship
.
"Essex submitted an appeal, raising concerns of significant and material procedural irregularities that impacted upon the sanction, which was supported by the Cricket Regulator," Essex said in a statement.
"Concerns about inconsistencies with the compliance of bat gauges in line with the relevant MCC Laws of Cricket was also highlighted, however despite these concerns, the appeal was unsuccessful."
The points deduction has effectively ended Essex's chances of winning the County Championship title as the season nears its conclusion this month. The county side's president,
Keith Fletcher, criticized the country's cricket board (ECB) for the decision.
"Gray-Nicolls have backed us all the way. There are several different bat gauges and they say they followed the rules," Fletcher told The Times.
"I assume the ECB thought this was cheating and the appeal panel is trying to flex its muscles. Feroze does not believe he did anything wrong and the whole side has been penalised, not just the one player."
As per the laws of the game, a bat's width cannot exceed 10.8 cm, its depth is limited to 6.7 cm, and the edges cannot be more than 4 cm. Additionally, bats must pass a bat-gauge test.
In 2022, Durham faced a similar 10-point deduction when Australian batter Nic Maddinson's bat failed the bat-gauge test during their match against Derbyshire.
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