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4w ago

Lancashire Drafts Sutton After Referee Blocks Bailey Under ECB Injury-Sub Trial

The row highlights mounting pressure to tighten the ECB’s vague like-for-like substitution rules.

The County Championship injury replacement trial has come under more scrutiny, after Lancashire's substitute seamer was reportedly deemed 'too good' to replace injured Ajeet Singh Dale.
The left-arm seamer Sutton was playing for Lancashire’s second XI at Grace Road when he got the call to link up with the first team in Bristol

Overview

  • Lancashire’s Ajeet Singh Dale left the Bristol match on Friday with a hamstring injury after two overs, prompting a replacement request.
  • Match referee Peter Such rejected Tom Bailey as not like-for-like, with Lancashire’s CEO saying Bailey was judged "too good" to approve.
  • Lancashire then called up left-arm seamer Ollie Sutton from a second XI game in Leicester, who drove about 125 miles to join the first team.
  • Squad seamer Mitchell Stanley was ruled out with a back spasm, while Bailey stayed on as a substitute fielder under the decision.
  • This was the ninth injury substitution in nine days under the trial, which gives referees final say and could be tightened during the upcoming break.