Berkshire lose three players for Minor Counties match

Mordt led Berkshire to the Minor Counties Championship title in 2008

Berkshire have lost three players for the crucial final Minor Counties match against Devon because of suspensions.

Bjorn Mordt, Carl Crowe and Steven Naylor are banned after having been accused of dissent against Oxfordshire.

Mordt told BBC Berkshire: "We are bitterly disappointed. Once they hand out the punishment there's no chance to defend yourself.

"We believe we should have had a right to appeal, but in their rules and regulations you can't."

Berkshire captain Mordt explained that the bans were handed out by the Minor Counties Cricket Association following incidents on the second day of play at Banbury.

"There was some niggle between a couple of players. Carl Crowe and Steven Naylor showed dissent to an umpire's decision, but one of those was inside the dressing room," he said.

"The umpires didn't hear what happened in the dressing room, they were told by a third party, and obviously they made their minds up on that to put it in their report."

Mordt and Crowe will miss the final Minor County Championship game against Devon, while Naylor will sit out a further two matches in addition to the match at Sidmouth.

Berkshire need to avoid defeat in the fixture in order to secure their place in the final of the Minor Counties three-day competition, but Mordt does not think the team will be too affected by the absences.

"I've got full confidence in our team going down there, we've still got some excellent players and the three that will come in and replace us are very good cricketers," he said.