Former England captain Keith Fletcher has let rip at the ECB after his club was docked 12 competition points after a player’s bat was found to be oversized.

Essex opener Feroze Khushi’s bat failed an on-field dimensions check in the second innings of its 254-run win over Nottinghamshire in April.

Umpires Tom Lungley and Steve O’Shaughnessy said Khushi’s bat got “stuck in their measurement gauge”, although both gauges were later found to not conform to the MCC’s requirements.

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Neither did two others used at the ground before Khushi’s bat was formally confiscated for further inspection. A month later, the bat failed to fit through a fifth gauge that did conform with the MCC’s requirements, which led to the sanction.

Essex appealed the decision, but it was rejected.

Essex chair Anu Mohindru questioned where the bat had been stored in the lead up to the final test, suggesting it could have swelled before the failing the final test.

“We accept that finally, one month after confiscating the bat, it did not go through a fifth gauge that was the correct size,” Mohindru told Wisden.

“However, at that point other questions then raise their heads. Firstly, where had the bat been stored? Also, what right did the regulator have to take the bat away if the initial tests were conducted on gauges that did not conform to the MCC guidelines?”

According to the BBC, the bat’s manufacturer Gray-Nicolls insisted it conformed to the regulations, and had also previously raised concerns about the inconsistencies of bat gauges.

“I assume the ECB thought this was cheating and the appeal panel is trying to flex its muscles a bit,” Fletcher told The Times.

“Feroze does not believe he did anything wrong and the whole side has been penalised, not just the one player.

“As a batsman I know that a few millimetres either way is not going to have any effect on performance. Umpires test bats at random and I think the ECB have been absolutely stupid.”

Having initially picked up 20 points for the win, Essex have had 12 removed. Should an Essex player in any grade commit the same offense within the next two years, the team will be docked half of its accrued match points for the season. The 25-year-old Khushi was given a reprimand.

The penalty has also all but ended Essex hopes of winning the championship.

In a statement confirming they would accept the sanctions, Essex said they would now formally raise their concerns about the gauges.

“The club remains fully committed to upholding the integrity of the game and ensuring strict compliance with all relevant regulations moving forward,” it said.

“In light of the concerns raised during the appeal, the club will be writing to the CDC, Cricket Regulator and the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to formally highlight the matters which arose during the process, such as those raised by the club in relation to the bat gauges.

“Essex CCC hopes that these concerns will prompt action to address inconsistencies and enhance the fairness and transparency of future regulatory processes.”

Khushi isn’t the first batter to be found using a fat bat. Durham were penalised 10 points in 2022 after Aussie Nic Maddinson’s bat didn’t fit through gauges, and Derbyshire were docked two points in the one-day series in the same year when Mattie McKiernan’s bat failed.