Photo Credit: England and Wales Cricket Board
The Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) has imposed a suspended sanction against Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club and its T20 captain Dan Christian following a remote disciplinary hearing held on 19 November. The hearing was triggered following five fixed penalties being reached by Nottinghamshire in a 12 month period. All the breaches happened in a five week period during the Vitality Blast in 2020.
The Club was given suspended points deductions for the 2021 season depending on the future conduct of Nottinghamshire’s players in 2021.
In addition, the Club’s T20 captain, Dan Christian, was handed a suspended one match ban, again dependant on the conduct of Nottinghamshire players in matches in which he is captain in 2021.
As a consequence of the Fixed Penalty breaches, Nottinghamshire CCC were charged with a breach of ECB Directive 3.6.21, as they incurred a total of five fixed penalty breaches within a period of 12 months, and a charge against their T20 captain, Dan Christian under ECB Directive 3.5, as he was captain on each of these five occasions.
The decisions were taken after a Disciplinary Panel chaired by Mike Smith, alongside Paul Parker and Tom Poynton.
Their decision will result in an immediate penalty of 2 points in the Royal London Cup and/or 2 points in the Vitality Blast and/or 16 points in the County Championship, to be imposed if cricketers playing for Nottinghamshire incur a further two Fixed Penalty breaches in any competition within a period of 12 months from the date of the hearing. The precise nature of the points deductions will be decided by the panel depending on the seriousness of any future breaches and the competition in which they occur.
The club captain, Dan Christian, will receive a one match ban (details to be determined by the CDC panel) should any player in a Nottinghamshire team which he is captaining receive a fixed penalty notice in the 12 months from the date of the hearing.
In reaching this decision, the Panel noted Nottinghamshire’s previous good disciplinary record and the honourable way that it had approached the charges but reminded Nottinghamshire that breaches of discipline are a matter of serious concern.
