It must be mentioned that Sussex had previously been sanctioned twice by the umpires in the early part of the season, with Pujara being charged with a Level 1 offence in the opening game against Durham and Haines reprimanded similarly after the visit of Yorkshire to Hove. Sussex clung onto a nervy and fractious 15-run win over Leicestershire last week, bolstering hopes of promotion to Division One. But they suffered brutal blows as they were docked 12 points besides suspensions to four players—captain Cheteshwar Pujara, leading wicket-taker Ari Karvelas two of their best young players, England Lions Tom Haines and Jack Carson—as they were found guilty of various charges in the course of the season, but mostly in the game against Leicestershire, which they won by 15 runs, defending a mammoth 499.
Information on the penalties received by @SussexCCC for breaching ECB’s Professional Conduct Regulations.
— England and Wales Cricket Board (@ECB_cricket) September 18, 2023
The match referee handed out two fixed penalties taking it to four penalties for the season, triggering an automatic 12-point deduction. Pujara was the captain on all occasions, and hence would sit out of the next game against Derbyshire. Multiple times, umpires Paul Baldwin and Ben Debenham had instructed him to tone down their appealing, but was unable to improve his players’ behaviour.
The ECB released a statement following the incident and detailed the reason behind Cheteshwar Pujara’s one match suspension. The statement read: “Regulation 4.30 of the Professional Conduct Regulations sets out that it shall be a separate offence for the captain where the same individual captained the Team in all of the matches in which the fixed penalties were received, and that the captain will receive an automatic suspension of one match from that competition.”
Earlier this season, he himself committed a Level One offence, for “wilfully mistreating any part of the cricket ground, equipment or implements used in the match” in the game against Durham.
Karvelas would not feature “until an investigation into an incident in the Leicestershire game has been concluded” Haines committed a level One offence for the second time this season, while Carson charged with “making inappropriate and deliberate physical contact with another player”, which is thought to relate to a subtle attempted trip of the Leicestershire batsman Ben Cox, when he attempted a run during their chase of 499.
Both apologised for their behaviour. “In the heat of the battle during the previous match against Leicestershire my desperation to compete and ultimately win the game resulted in me crossing the line in what is deemed acceptable within the spirit of cricket. I would like to apologise to my team-mates and to all our Sussex supporters for my actions during the game,” said Carson.
“I plan to learn from the experience and conduct myself in the correct manner without losing my fierce determination to compete in all fixtures while representing the club,” he added.
Haines, the opener and ODI captain, said: “In light of the recent game against Leicestershire, I’d like to apologise to all Sussex supporters for overstepping the mark with regards to discipline on the field. It came out of pure passion to compete and help the team win the game. This is something I will learn from and channel better in future games for Sussex.”
Coach Paul Fabrace said these incidents only tarnished a terrific match. “It is a great shame that these incidents have tarnished what was a fantastic game against Leicestershire, and all the hard work that has gone into the season. I am disappointed for our fantastic members and supporters and can assure them we will be working hard to make sure we are not in this position again,” he said.
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