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Durham have been docked 10 points in the County Championship Division Two for a bizarre reason. In an attempt to set an example, Durham faced a heavy penalty because their overseas pick Nic Maddinson used a bat that failed the bat-gauge test few weeks ago.
On September 6, during the clash against Derbyshire, Maddinson's bat failed the test and the Australian batter admitted to breaching the ECB Directives 3.2 and 3.3 unintentionally.
On September 29, Cricket Discipline Commission imposed a 10-point deduction in a statement that said, “The CDC considered the points put in mitigation by Durham Cricket and Maddinson, that the offence was committed unintentionally, but confirmed that the matter had to be dealt on a strict liability basis with the responsibility on players to ensure the equipment they use conforms to the laws of the game.”
As per Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) rules, a bat's length must not be more than 96.52 cm beneath the handle. The overall dimensions should not go beyond 10.8 cm for width, 6.7 cm for depth and 4cm for its edges.
Maddinson registered scores of 8 and 32 in first and second innings of the clash. His bat was inspected by the umpire during the game. As the bat could not pass the test, he was asked by the umpire to use a different one.
On September 29, they suffered a massive 462-run loss against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge and finished fifth on the points table with 174 points from 13 games. They managed to win just three games and lost seven while three ended in a draw.
In Durham’s last game of the season, Maddinson recorded scores of 40 and 13 as Durham batters disappointed on a batting track.
