County Cricket / Editor / 25 May 2007 /

Glamorgan have drifted have even further in an emerging County Championship Division Two winner market having been docked points by the England and Wales Cricket Board.

The Welsh county have had eight points taken off them for preparing a poor wicket for their Championship clash with Middlesex.

Over 20 wickets fell in the first day at Swansea, with Middlesex cruising to an innings and two-run victory within two days.
The ECB panel heard from the captains, coaches, and groundsman Len Smith, during two hours of deliberations before handing out the punishment.

Glamorgan chief executive Mike Fatkin said: "It's frustrating because the ground staff put in the hard work but the weather has been against us.

"It's a new experience for us and if we were being honest we expected to get away with just a warning.

"We don't believe we have done anything deliberate or anything fundamentally wrong as far as the regulations are concerned. We were victims of poor weather in the lead-up to the game."

The points deduction leaves Glamorgan bottom of Division Two, with no victories in their opening four matches.

Meanwhile, the victory saw Middlesex temporarily move up to second in the table but Somerset have leapfrogged them due to their progress in the ongoing clash with Gloucestershire. Nottinghamshire continue to lead the way at the top.

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