Durham County Cricket Club confirms that is has been penalised following a breach of the ECB Team Salary Payment regulations
The breach represents less than 2% of the salary cap and the penalty of a fine of £2500, a deduction of 2.5 points in the LV= County Championship and 0.25 points in the Clydesdale Bank 40 and Friends Life t20 competitions is at the lowest end of the available sanctions.
The ECB has acknowledged that the Club has at all times, operated within the spirit of the regulation; declaring the breach to ECB at the earliest opportunity and co-operating fully with the ECB throughout the process.
The Team Salary Payment regulations were introduced at a time when Durham was enjoying particular success and seeking to secure the long term commitment of key players.
In its submission to the ECB Durham CCC explained the difficulties faced by Counties who wish to remain competitive in all competitions and produce players for England.
In particular the lack of certainty relating to players in the England system means that it is impossible to have absolute certainty around the final salary bill.