Hampshire docked three points for pitch in Essex defeat

The surface was rated 'below average' by match referee Wayne Noon, with a further 20-point deduction suspended until the end of next season

Hampshire have been docked three County Championship points as punishment for the pitch used during the club's three-day defeat by Essex in July.

The three completed innings in the match produced scores of 120, 169 and 131, before Essex chased 86 for the loss of four wickets as seamers dominated at the Ageas Bowl.

Hampshire were charged with failing to comply with regulation 8.1 of the ECB pitch regulations, which requires each county to actively seek to prepare the best quality cricket pitch that it can for the match that it is staging.

It was rated 'below average' by match referee Wayne Noon.

^{Essex won by six wickets (Warren Little/Getty Images)}

Hampshire have also been issued with a 20-point deduction for the 2024 season, though that sanction is suspended until the end of next summer.

They have been fined £5,000 for the breach, which was in part caused by a range of weather conditions through July, with the pitch at one stage too dry to work on before it reflooded, after which heavy rain impacted it.

The pitch was only protected with a sheet cover as the surface for Southern Brave's Hundred matchday had the hover-cover on it.

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