English county season witnessed a major drama after Essex were docked 12 points by the ECB over Feroze Khushi’s bat, which was found to be too wide. During a match against Nottinghamshire in April, Khushi’s bat got stuck in their measurement gauge.
At the time, Khushi was scoring 21 runs and eventually made 11 more. This incident has now significantly impacted Essex’s season. The club’s slim hopes of winning the County Championship First Division have all but evaporated
According to The Times report, Essex president Keith Fletcher has criticised the ECB for their decision, calling it "stupid." Fletcher stated that Gray-Nicolls, the bat manufacturer, supported Essex, asserting that they followed the rules. He said, “I assume the ECB thought this was cheating and the appeal panel is trying to flex its muscles a bit. Feroze does not believe he did anything wrong and the whole side has been penalised, not just the one player. As a batsman I know that a few millimetres either way is not going to have any effect on performance. Umpires test bats at random and I think the ECB have been absolutely stupid.
He added, " We realise we are not going to catch Surrey now and there is money at stake for the players and prestige for a non-Test-match club such as ourselves involved in where we finish. We are always up against it with the Test-match clubs, which already have the money to attract the best players.
Whats does the law for bat size say?
Law 5.7.2 states: “The blade of the bat shall not exceed the following dimensions: Width: 4.25in / 10.8 cm. Depth: 2.64in / 6.7 cm. Edges: 1.56in / 4.0cm. Furthermore, it should also be able to pass through a bat gauge.”
Essex chair Anu Mohindru
