Hampshire hit by eight-point pitch penalty

Hampshire have been plunged further into the relegation mire after being docked eight points for a "poor" pitch following their County Championship match against Nottinghamshire at the Rose Bowl.

The ECB pitch panel, comprising Tony Pigott and Mike Denness, ruled that the surface offered excessive turn. Spinners took 25 of the 36 wickets to fall with Samit Patel taking a career-best 7 for 68 and Danny Briggs claiming 6 for 65. Hampshire were already bottom of Division One and now have just 39 points which puts them 36 behind eighth-placed Worcestershire with seven four-day games remaining.

"The club accepts the judgement of the pitch panel committee in good faith," a statement said. "We now wish to concentrate on our aims of avoiding relegation from Division One of the County Championship, and defending our Twenty20 crown."

It's the second time in two seasons that Hampshire, have been penalised for a poor pitch following last summer's Twenty20 match against Somerset, which meant they started this year's Friends Life t20 on minus two points. They are the second county to be hit by a pitch penalty this season after Warwickshire lost eight points for the surface they produced at Edgbaston for the match against Lancashire.