It was a damp ending to our Royal London qualification hopes, the only ball bowled today proving to be the ECB curveball that imposed a two-point penalty on the club. This for Mattie McKiernan's bat being deemed too wide in the game against Hampshire, having failed a bat gauge test.
Now, I get that bats have to be a certain size and if the offending blade exceeded it, then fair enough. But an IMMEDIATE two-point penalty? A tad draconian, is it not? If Mattie had gone out with a bat the width of the wickets I could have understood it. If he had denied it all, the same. Rules are rules, but surely penalties have to be commensurate with the scale of the offence?
Would a warning and a suspended penalty not made more sense? After all, in docking two points you are bracketing the club with Leicestershire and Durham, who received a similar penalty for multiple behavioural/disciplinary offences on the field. It isn't really on the same scale, is it?
To be clear, the player didn't win the game with a swashbuckling century, he scored seventeen runs. The penalty is akin, as one observer put it, 'to using a sledgehammer to crack a nut'.
Once again the ECB are found wanting when it comes to dealing with those who play the game.
It leaves a sour taste. And also sets a precedent, as you can bet your bottom dollar that I and many others will be watching to see if other counties are treated the same for similar breaches in the future.
Anyway, time for home tomorrow, after a washout and a defeat in my two 'live' games. Such is life, but I will be in my armchair on Sunday for the match against the Yorkies, dead game or not.
In closing, thank you so much to those who came to say hello over the two games. It is always lovely to put a face to blog contributors and I was able to do that in a few cases over the two days.
It really was a pleasure, so thank you all, whether with two legs or four!
Unless there was any previous suspending sentence or totting up of penalty points the punishment seems very harsh. As David Griffin says in his twitter video what punishment would we get if we actually did something seriously wrong.
ReplyDeleteEither we need a new legal team or we are afraid of rocking the boat and just accepted the punishment with all the rumours about the future of the game with this on top of the excessive suspension for Tom Wood earlier in the season for not declaring the use of an inhaler.
As I posted on twitter it seems that the powers in charge forget that when the ECB needed a county to give up their home ground post covid we put our hands up and played all games away from home to assist. What thanks do we get ?
well said . the ECB have their favourites and it certainly isnt us! mal b
DeleteAs usual the ECB have shown as much sense of fairness as the Tory party. Sorry to have missed you at Derby today Steve. I spent over 3 hours in the gloomy surroundings of the East Midlands Demolition stand with my son Chris while we waited with more hope than expectation for the match to start. It didn't help that the Met Office forecast was hopelessly optimistic! Off to Chesterfield on Sunday. Fingers xd for a better day weather-wise.
ReplyDeleteIt was good to chat with you today Steve, and to let you know, in person, how enjoyable your blog is for me. And I suspect many others.
ReplyDeleteYou too and thank you so much for your kind words and taking the time to say hello. It was a pleasure!
DeleteSteve, I totally agree that the decision is harsh. At the same time, given a club might lose two points in a tight competition, surely all the players should understand the rules and regs. How much tape you can wrap around a bat must be pretty basic stuff. At this level, given the ECB rules, I would expect someone in the coaching staff on a match day to make sure all the players met all the rules.
ReplyDeleteLovely to see you yesterday too, Steve. I know Toby certainly enjoyed all the fuss! Shame about the weather but great to have a catch up.
ReplyDeleteSarah
Absolute nonsense once again the ECB using any excuse going to put the boot in on Derbyshire,given the ramifications has the club appealed? was this a result of a complaint from Hampshire? Do the bat police measure the width of every bat in every match? Derbyshire were the first county in 1990 to be deducted points for a pitch which was deemed below standard in a match which Derbyshire had to declare to make a game of it nothing changes
ReplyDeleteDidn't Ashley Harvey-walker have a 'bigger bat'than most?
ReplyDeleteHeavier, yes.
DeleteHe used a very heavy bat for the time - I did a piece on him a few years back
Deletehttp://derbyshirecricket.blogspot.com/2008/04/favourite-cricketers-5-ashley-harvey.html?m=1