Leicestershire County Cricket Club have confirmed they will appeal a 27-point deduction and £5,000 fine imposed after the Cricket Discipline Panel rated the Grace Road pitch as ‘poor’ during their County Championship Division One match against Glamorgan, which ran from August 20 to 23, 2026.
The sanction comprises the forfeiture of all 19 points Leicestershire earned from their 42-run victory over Glamorgan, an additional 8-point deduction, the £5,000 fine, and a further 8-point penalty suspended until the end of the 2027 season. The club has until September 29, 2026 to lodge the appeal formally.
A Bollywood film shoot for the Sourav Ganguly biopic ‘Dada: The Sourav Ganguly Story’ took place at Grace Road four days before the Glamorgan fixture, preventing the pitch from being covered for eight hours in bright sunshine. The Cricket Discipline Panel acknowledged the disruption but dismissed the shoot as a mitigating factor, noting it accounted for only one day of the preparation period.
“I can confirm that the club will be appealing. The club respects the Cricket Discipline Panel process, which is ongoing. However, we have serious concerns about the process that resulted in the Panel’s decision on the charge and the sanctioning procedure,” Leicestershire’s groundsman Callum Lewin said, as quoted by Sky Sports.
Leicestershire have instructed sports law barrister Craig Harris of Furnival Chambers to advise and represent the club through the appeal process.
“As we intend to appeal, it would not be appropriate for the club to comment further at this stage. I would ask all supporters to do the same, and to treat everyone involved, including players and staff from other counties, and those involved with administering this process, with courtesy and respect, both at the ground and online. The Panel itself found that the club did not intend the pitch to play as it did and that this was not a case of cheating. Our grounds team has an outstanding record, and I am proud of the work they do,” a club statement said.
What did the panel find wrong with the pitch?
The Cricket Discipline Panel upheld the Cricket Regulator’s charge that Leicestershire had breached ECB Pitch Regulations. Match referee Ian Ramage logged 43 examples of uneven bounce during the four-day fixture against Glamorgan. The pitch presented a green middle section carrying 16mm of grass to assist seamers, while the ends were bare at 3mm, a combination the panel considered unusual and problematic.
The Regulator pointed to several foreseeable risks in the preparation process, stating that ‘each of these factors presented foreseeable risks that should have informed part of the planning and preparation process.’
What is the championship impact and what happens next?
The deduction dropped Leicestershire to the bottom of Division One following the sanction. Despite that, the club kept their survival hopes alive with a five-wicket win over Hampshire in September 2026, a result that demonstrated their on-field competitiveness even as the administrative process continued off it.
The club’s statement asked supporters to treat all parties, including players, staff from other counties and those administering the process, with courtesy and respect both at the ground and online, while confirming no further comment would be made until the appeal is resolved. The appeal must be lodged by September 29, 2026, and the outcome will determine whether the 27-point deduction and fine stand or are revised.
As the suspended 8-point penalty also remains in place until the end of the 2027 season, the stakes of the appeal extend well beyond the current campaign for Leicestershire.
