FURTHER to Tim Wellock's comment piece, published in The Northern Echo on Friday, underlining how the signing of David Willey points to Yorkshire growing stronger at the expense of the weak, we have been asked to clarify certain points about Leicestershire.

The intention was to sympathise with division two's bottom club, who struggle, like Northants, to hang on to their better players. In observing that they had appointed Australian Mark Cosgrove as captain to kick backsides it was not the intention to imply that he is a bully.

Any suggestion that his leadership is responsible for Leicestershire being handed a 16-point deduction is wide of the mark.

Their officials were at the ECB hearing last Friday and admitted to five separate offences of dissent/inappropriate behaviour in the last 12 months.

Two of those offences happened last season when Cosgrove was not at the club. Of the three offences this season, one was in a second team game against Durham at Brandon when James Sykes was given three points for an altercation with Jamie Harrison, who was given six points in one of three offences committed by Durham this season.

The other two involved Paul Collingwood and Michael Richardson allegedly showing dissent towards decisions which they justifiably felt were wrong. The ECB are clamping down on dissent, but their procedures are open to question and Leicestershire are unhappy about their treatment.