New Delhi: Leicestershire blamed the filming of former India captain biopic as one of the reasons for the poor pitch quality at Grace Road, but a disciplinary panel has rejected the explanation and handed the county side a 27-point penalty for breaching pitch regulations.
Leicestershire now has 10 days to appeal the Cricket Discipline Panel’s decision, which has pushed them close to relegation from Division One.
The panel upheld the Cricket Regulator’s charge for a poor pitch, deducting 19 points, which the Foxes secured from their 42-run victory against Glamorgan at Grace Road (August 20-23). They also got an additional eight-point penalty. Furthermore, Leicestershire was also ordered to pay a £5,000 fine.
Leicestershire groundsman blames unforeseen circumstances for poor pitch
Callum Lewin, who is the head groundsman at Grace Road, told the Cricket Regulator that the surface prepared for the Glamorgan match was affected by a series of circumstances, which were not in his control.
“It’s a used pitch this time around. We had two T20s on it 10 weeks ago. There were a lot of circumstances leading up to the game that were just out of my control, such as the weather was 35 degrees,” Lewin told the Cricket Regulator
“We also had an unscheduled Bollywood filming event four days before (the match vs Glamorgan), and I wasn’t allowed to work on the pitch. I wasn’t allowed to cover it or anything,” he added.
The filming of the Bollywood movie, which happened four days before the game, was rejected as a mitigating factor by the disciplinary committee as the shooting was held only for a day at the venue.
“The Club notes the Cricket Discipline Panel’s decision, which imposes an eight-point deduction, an additional eight-point deduction suspended until the end of the 2027 season, and a financial penalty of 5,000 pounds,” Leicestershire said in a statement.
The statement further added that the club has received the panel’s verdict and is reviewing its position. Leicestershire now have 89 points in 12 matches and need to beat Hampshire in the ongoing Division One match to stay in the top-tier county league.