Derbyshire appeal after points penalty

The wicket at the County Ground was "poor"

Derbyshire have been deducted eight County Championship points over the state of their pitch.

They claimed their first championship victory of the season this week against Surrey before lunch on the third day but the pitch was judged to be unsatisfactory.

Derbyshire confirmed on Friday afternoon that they would be appealing against the decision.

A total of 33 wickets had fallen on the first two days of the game and the ECB's pitches liaison officers travelled to Derby on Thursday to inspect the surface.

In accordance with the guidelines for pitches, there was no doubt the pitch should therefore be deducted the eight points

Mike Denness

After lengthy deliberations, they decided to mark it down as "poor" and Mike Denness, head of the pitches advisory committee, confirmed the points deduction.

He said: " Due to the undue amount of seam movement and irregular bounce, we agreed the pitch should be classified as poor.

"In accordance with the guidelines for pitches, there was no doubt the pitch should therefore be deducted the eight points."

Deeply upset

But Derbyshire immediately responded by protesting their innocence and claiming they had done "everything possible" to prepare the pitch after days of heavy rain leading up to the match.

Chief executive John Smedley admitted: "We are deeply upset and have lodged notice of an appeal.

"We are absolutely convinced that the pitch was as good as it possibly could be given the prevailing conditions during its preparation and I can confirm that was the view of the umpires as well. They were happy we had done everything possible.

"We have taken legal advice and are confident that we can get the appeal upheld and have the eight points restored."

The penalty means Derbyshire drop from sixth place to eighth in the nine-team division.