Lancashire docked six points following Cricket Disciplinary Committee hearing

The club picked up five fixed penalties between September 2020 and September 2021 and have since received two more, activating a suspended points deduction

Lancashire have been docked six points in the LV= Insurance County Championship following a Cricket Disciplinary Committee hearing.

Between September 2020 and September 2021, the club picked up five fixed penalties – two against Liam Livingstone and one each against Alex Davies, Luke Wells and Tom Bailey – and were handed a suspended points deduction on the condition they didn't pick up two further penalties over the next 12-month period.

Picking up one penalty would result in a one-match suspension for captain Dane Vilas while two penalties would trigger a deduction of either 12 County Championship points, two Royal London Cup points or two Vitality Blast points.

This season, Lancashire picked up two separate level one fixed penalties in the County Championship – against Warwickshire (June 2022) and Northamptonshire (July 2022), respectively – which has triggered the points deduction.

However, a penalty of just six points has been imposed as both penalties were level one offences and Lancashire have taken proactive steps to improving player discipline, including distributing a player information pack and introducing a fine equivalent to 10 per cent of a player's monthly salary for breaches of discipline.

^{Lancashire's director of cricket performance, Mark Chilton, is unhappy with the sanction [Naomi Baker/Getty Images]}

The points deduction will come into place with immediate effect.

Mark Chilton, Lancashire's director of cricket performance, said: "Following all our hard work throughout the winter and in the County Championship this season, to be deducted points for what are, in our opinion, minor discretions is gut wrenching.

"With our suspended sentence from previous indiscretions, we knew the position we were in at the start of the season, addressed this as a group and set our expectations of one another. Such behavioural standards are important for us, both on and off the field, to ensure we are creating the appropriate environment for high performance to flourish.

"In our opinion, both fixed penalties we received were unduly harsh punishments, which could have gone either way, and it is this inconsistency in the decision making that makes this difficult to take. I would also call on the ECB to include officiating as an important part of the high-performance review.

"We recognise umpiring is a challenging job and mistakes will happen, but at present there isn't enough accountability surrounding their decisions and too much subjectivity still exists. The sooner we can provide additional support by way of technology and improved processes, the better.

"As a club, we take particular exception to penalties being issued immediately, on the field, and think that this is an additional responsibility which umpires don't need.

"Everyone would benefit from taking a breath, considering each case away from the heat of the battle, with the match referee then playing a leading role in the decision-making process. This would allow for the umpires to build working relationships with the players, as opposed to being seen as the final judge and jury and the ones that punish, this only creates tension between the two parties.

"Both of our incidents could have been avoided with an ability to review the decisions, and the sooner this is in place, the better. I accept there is significant expense with this, but if we are serious about raising standards, it should be closely looked at. I have no doubt it would make a huge difference and would be welcomed by players and officials alike.

"The early examples of the new ball tracking data that I have seen could be a game changer and would allow for more effective performance management of officials whilst increasing the percentage of correct decisions."