India, Sept. 17 -- England county cricket club Leicestershire have been handed a 27-point penalty for breaching pitch regulations, leaving them facing a relegation battle. The deduction was imposed over the quality of the pitch at Grace Road, with the club's head groundsman arguing that the conditions were caused by extreme heat and a Bollywood film shoot just days before a match. The punishment has dropped Leicestershire to the bottom of the Division One table and put their survival hopes under serious pressure. However, the club still has time to challenge the decision, with the deadline for an appeal set for September 29.

The Cricket Discipline Panel upheld the Cricket Regulator's charge that Leicestershire had prepared a "poor pitch"...