Somerset survive in County Championship after Middlesex lose appeal against points deduction

Somerset will remain in the County Championship Division One after Middlesex lost their appeal against a points deduction which contributed to their relegation.

Middlesex were relegated in the final set of matches in September, losing their last game to Somerset and seeing their victorious opponents climb out of the bottom two at their expense.

The 2016 champions were deducted two points for a slow over-rate during their game against Surrey in August, a match most remembered for a crossbow bolt being fired onto the pitch and causing play at the Kia Oval to be abandoned.

Middlesex claimed they were planning to declare their innings at the time of the incident, therefore giving them sufficient time to bowl the required overs and avoid the punishment. They were eventually relegated by a single point less than a month later.

Middlesex chief executive Richard Goatley said: "Whilst we still believe the imposition of the penalty was unjust, we accept the decision of the chairman of the CDC and will move on.

"We do not believe that any further action is in the interests of Middlesex or the wider game. We will now focus on regaining a place in the 1st Division at the earliest opportunity."

Middlesex had also claimed that the match officials at the Oval reassured them that the events leading to the end of the match meant that they would not face a points deduction, despite being behind on the over rate.

Cricket Discipline Commission chairman Tim O’Gorman, said: "It is in the interests of the whole game that arrangements are put in place to prevent slow over rates, and it is noted that the requirement of 16 overs per hour is a minimum rate.

"The rules relating to over rates are clear and understood by all teams, coaches, players, and captains. Although it may be common practice that teams will seek to make up time later in a match, even in the second innings, if they seek to do this they must also be aware that approaching their over rate in such a way carries with it an inherent risk.

"If, for any reason, they are unable to make the time up, the appropriate sanction will be imposed. Middlesex have sought to argue that it was only because of the abandonment of the game that they did not make up their overs but that cannot be entirely correct. There was no guarantee that, if the game had run its normal course those overs could ever have been made up.

"I do not accept that Middlesex only agreed to the abandonment of the match on condition that their slow over rate in the first innings would be overlooked. It is not within the power or gift of either the umpires or the players to make deals like that. The match was abandoned for safety reasons. Play ended accordingly and the points earned or deducted should stand with effect from that time."

(c) Sky News 2017: Somerset survive in County Championship after Middlesex lose appeal against points deduction