Captain Cheteshwar Pujara, 3 other Sussex players suspended

Sussex skipper Cheteshwar Pujara and three other teammates - leading wicket-taker Ari Karvelas, two of their best young players, England Lions Tom Haines and Jack Carson - have been suspended on disciplinary grounds during various matches in the County Championship season. Sussex, who ecked out a 15-run victory over Leicestershire after successfully defending 499, were hopeful of promotion to Division One, but they have been docked a further 12 points after charges were levelled, putting their target promotion in jeopardy.

After the match referee handed out two fixed penalty points, the tally for Sussex went up to four, which triggered a 12-point deduction. Pujara, who was the captain in all the games, will miss the next game against Derbyshire. There were plenty of occasions when on-field umpires had told Pujara to tone down his side's excessive appeal, but he failed to do so.

The England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) released a statement explaining the reason behind Pujara's suspension.

“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," the statement read.

Karvelas will not feature for Sussex, pending an investigation into an incident in the Leicestershire game, while Carson was charged with “making inappropriate and deliberate physical contact with another player”, and Haines is believed to have committed a second-level offence for the second time this season. The latter two have 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 teammates and to all our Sussex supporters for my actions during the game,” said Carson.

Sussex now find themselves in fifth position with 124 points. Their win over Leicester was their first since they beat Durham in April this year.