Leicestershire knocked out of T20 Blast after points deduction

Two fixed penalty notices imposed by the Cricket Disciplinary Commission ends their campaign with a game to spare

Leicestershire Foxes have crashed out of the T20 Blast in ignominious circumstances after being handed a two-point penalty by the Cricket Discipline Commission.

The Grace Road club were gearing up for a straight shoot-out with Yorkshire Vikings for the last quarter-final place in the North Group on Sunday (July 3)

But their last eight hopes have ended abruptly with the news of two fixed penalties incurred during the recent home victory over Northamptonshire Steelbacks.

Naveen-ul-Haq bowled two beamers in the 19th over and Arron Lilley's confrontation with Jimmy Neesham, upon the New Zealander being run-out, provoked the latest action.

The outcome means Yorkshire or Notts Outlaws will qualify for the last eight of the competition but leaves Leicestershire, who slip down to seventh in the table on 12 points, considering the impact of their woeful recent disciplinary record.

Between August 2 2020 and July 1 2021, Leicestershire received six fixed penalties for breaches of ECB Directive 3.6, triggered by an incident of dissent by Lilley during a Blast game against Notts Outlaws, which led to a suspended penalty dependent on future good behaviour.

But the CDC panel were forced to reconsider the position after Ben Mike damaged the pitch on three occasions during a home Blast game against Northants, as a two-game ban and one-point deduction was imposed.

A further points penalty - 12 in the LV= Insurance County Championship, two in the One-Day Cup or Blast - was held over the club for the next 12 months and would be activated upon a further breach.

^{Arron Lilley and Naveen-ul-Haq (David Rogers/Getty Images)}

Those occurred - taking the figure to nine in the last 23 months - during the dramatic conclusion to the one-run victory over Northants on Friday (July 1) which had looked like keeping their quarter-final hopes alive heading into the final round of group fixtures.

Afghanistan quick Naveen committed the first offence while bowling two no-balls for height to Neesham and Lewis McManus during the penultimate over of the Steelbacks chase.

He was subsequently withdrawn from the attack and Rehan Ahmed bowled the remaining delivery.

With Northants requiring 19 from the final over, Neesham was run-out on 51 as partner Tom Taylor attempted a second run, leaving the allrounder short of his ground.

In amongst Leicestershire's celebrations, Neesham confronted Lilley, who ran in from the deep as the World Cup runner-up trudged off the field.

The Running Foxes had planned to enlist a match referee before the start of the 2022 season, while chief executive Sean Jarvis has spoken directly with players over their conduct.

They had also accepted a previous suggestion by the disciplinary panel to draw up their own code of conduct to prevent further breaches.

A club statement read they were "devastated" at the development and had worked "tirelessly" to improve their disciplinary record.

Related Topics

• T20 Blast 2022: Final round permutations as the quarter-final race hots up
• Leicestershire snatch one-run win over Northamptonshire to keep last eight hopes alive