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LONDON, July 27: English county side Hampshire were deducted eight championship points by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) Saturday for providing a sub-standard pitch in their loss to Lancashire.
The ECB’s pitch panel of Tony Brown and Alan Fordham convened on Friday — the second day of the four-day division one county game — and concluded that the wicket was “poor”.
“After interviewing the umpires, captains and coaches of both teams and the groundsmen, the panel decided that the pitch had demonstrated undue uneven bounce throughout the first two days and should, therefore, be rated poor,” the ECB said in a statement on Saturday.
“An automatic deduction of eight championship points has been imposed on Hampshire.”
A total of 34 wickets fell at the Rose Bowl on the first two days, 22 of them on Friday.
Lancashire were bowled out for 183 and 187, while Hampshire made 132 in their first innings and were 54 for four at the close of play on Friday.
They were eventually bowled out for 127 before lunch on Saturday. Lancashire, second from bottom in division one, won the match by 111 runs.
CLOSE OF PLAY SCORES FRIDAY:
DIVISION ONE
DAY TWO
At Southampton: Lancashire 183 (A.Swann 66; S.Udal 4-25) and 187 (S.Udal 5-59, A.Mullally 3-36); Hampshire 132 (W.Kendall 54; J.Anderson 6-23) and 54-4
DAY THREE
At Grace Road: Leicestershire 131 (M.Saggers 5-44, D.Masters 4-36) and 400 (P.DeFreitas 114, I.Sutcliffe 103, T.Ward 70, M.Bevan 61; M.Saggers 4-68, D.Masters 3-86); Kent 339 (R.Key 127; M.Whiley 3-60) and 66-1.
At Guildford: Yorkshire 172 (M.Lumb 124, D.Lehmann 61, V.Craven 56) and 446 (M.Lumb 124, D.Lehmann 61, V.Craven 56, R.Blakey 50; E.Giddins 4-113); Surrey 382 (J.Batty 99, R.Clarke 56, A.Brown 50) and 110-3 (I.Ward 67 not out).
At Edgbaston: Warwickshire 493 (N.Knight 245 not out, M.Powell 57) and 284-6 (N.Knight 97; B.Taylor 3-83); Sussex 377 (P.Cottey 137, R.Montgomerie 51) and 5-1.
DIVISION TWO
DAY TWO
At Northampton: Derbyshire 388 (A.Gait 175, C.Bassano 57; G.Swann 4-119) and 188-6 (C.Basano 69; G.Swann 3-71); Northamptonshire 210 (J.Cook 88; D.Cork 3-56, T.Lungley 3-43).
DAY THREE
At Chester-le-Street: Nottinghamshire 362 (U.Afzaal 103, J.Gallian 75, P.Franks 60) and 83-2; Durham 116 (G.Smith 4-24) and 328 (J.Lewis 70; A.Harris 4-60, R.Logan 3-73).
At Chelmsford: Essex 231 and 281-2 (D.Robinson 119, W.Jefferson 109); Glamorgan 575 (S.James 249, M.Maynard 76, R.Croft 62).
At Cheltenham: Gloucestershire 494 (T.Hancock 112, A.Gidman 94, C.Taylor 67, M.Alleyne 62, M.Windows 55; Abdur Razzaq 5-125) and 175-8 (P.Tufnell 7-52); Middlesex 363 (P.Weekes 102, O.Shah 65; A.Gidman 3-33).—Reuters #
