Ben Mike banned as Leicestershire are handed point deduction and threatened with further action

The Foxes will be without the allrounder after he was found guilty of damaging the pitch during a recent T20 Blast match. The club and Colin Ackermann are also under the microscope

Leicestershire, captain Colin Ackermann and allrounder Ben Mike have been hit with a series of punishments by the Cricket Disciplinary Commission.

The heaviest reprimand has been given to Mike, who has been banned for two matches after being found guilty of damaging the pitch during a recent game.

The offence occurred during the T20 Blast match against Northamptonshire at Grace Road on June 29.

Mike was adjudged to have disrupted the surface on three occasions with his studs, an incident which was missed at the time by standing umpires Peter Hartley and Tom Lungley.

The CDC took into account his previous good record and his remorse having immediately apologised to all concerned when it had emerged that the incident had taken place.

A two-game ban has been handed down by the commission, one match of which has already been served after Mike was deemed unavailable for selection for the Royal London One-Day Cup clash against Warwickshire.

He will complete his suspension against Glamorgan on August 5.

The Foxes have also been deducted one point from their 2021 T20 Blast group campaign, dropping to 11 points. The outcome makes no difference to the outcome of the group, with Leicestershire remaining in sixth place and outside the quarter-final positions.

Furthermore, Leicestershire have been handed a suspended points penalty after accumulating six fixed penalties for breaches of ECB Directives in the last 11 months.

The action was triggered by Arron Lilley showing dissent towards an umpire during the Blast match against Notts Outlaws on July 1.

Should another fixed penalty be issued to a Leicestershire player in the next 12 months then a deduction of 12 points in the County Championship, or two in the Royal London Cup or T20 Blast will be enforced.

Furthermore, should a breach occur while Colin Ackermann is captaining the side he will be handed a one-match ban.

In an effort to combat their bad behaviour, Leicestershire plan to enlist a match referee before the start of the 2022 season.

Chief-executive Sean Jarvis, who was appointed in March 2020, and skipper Ackermann have regularly spoken with players regarding their conduct.

The club have also accepted a suggestion made by the disciplinary panel to draw up their own code of conduct in an effort to ensure there are no further breaches.

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