Sussex threatened with points deduction after suspended penalty for dissent offences

The Cricket Discipline Commission will impose a penalty if two further breaches take place during the current 12-month period

Archie Lenham serves notice with a moment of magic

Sussex have been slapped with a suspended points deduction following a Cricket Disciplinary Commission hearing.

The inquiry was triggered by the club being charged with five level one offences relating to dissent towards an umpire in the last 12 months, as per paragraph 3.6.21(a) of the ECB Directives.

Should the club commit two further fixed penalty breaches in the next 12 months the commission will impose a sanction.

That could see the team deducted 12 LV=Insurance County Championship points or two points in the T20 Blast or One-Day Cup.

The charge was similar to that brought against Nottinghamshire, though only surrounded level one reprimands and was spread across three competitions.

Notts committed all five misdemeanours during a five-week period during their run to the T20 Blast title which included a level two breach for mock fielding and a level one charge relating to "wilfully mistreating any part of a cricket ground or using obscene or offensive language".

A CDC written reasons documented confirmed that a financial penalty had been ruled out due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on county cash flow.

The offences took place between August 2020 and May 2021. They involved Jack Carson, Ollie Robinson and Ravi Bopara last season, and Delray Rawlins and Jofra Archer this term.

Sussex admitted the charge, triggered by reaching five breaches, but have 14 days to submit an appeal.

The club held a meeting between players, coaches and umpire Ian Gould earlier in the season to address the issue of ill-discipline.