Surrey face ball-tampering charges

Surrey face having points deducted after being reported by the umpires for ball tampering during their Championship match against Nottinghamshire at The Oval.

The ECB were notified after Mervyn Kitchen and Nigel Llong decided that the ball had been interfered with on Friday, despite an earlier warning to Surrey that the pair were not happy with its condition. Surrey did not query the decision, and a report, accompanied by the ball, is on its way to the ECB.

"Action must be tough and hard and must set an example," Paul Sheldon, Surrey's chief executive, said. " "Obviously it is a taint on a reputation which we regard very dearly and it is a huge disappointment. We're extremely apologetic to both the umpires and the ECB for the trouble this has caused and the bad name it brings to us. We set ourselves extremely high standards and we're going to do everything we can to find out who it is." The county will launch an investigation aimed at finding out which player was responsible.

Alan Fordham, the ECB's operations manager, will investigate the umpires' report and it is possible that Surrey will be summoned to a disciplinary hearing. There is no set tariff as to what punishment they face, but the only previous breach last year led to a three-point penalty against Sussex.