A disciplinary hearing into a Norfolk Alliance match that ended in acrimonious fashion following a rules dispute has decided both clubs were equally to blame for the early finish.

The Division Six fixture between Hales and Loddon and Bradfield on August 18 was cut short after just 21 overs, with Bradfield skipper Steve Bidwell leading his side off the pitch after taking exception to a couple of over-waist height deliveries.

He wanted the offending bowler removed from the attack immediately, while his Hales counterpart Mark Stewart insisted the change could wait until the end of the over.

No common ground could be reached out in the middle, with the skippers seeing the rules differently, and the match was abandoned, with Hales initially taking maximum points and their visitors having 25 deducted.

But at an Alliance disciplinary sub committee meeting at Manor Park it was decided both sides had infringed the rules and both have been deducted 25 points from last season's totals. They have also be handed a suspended punishment for the 2019 campaign, with any further transgressions set to cost them 50 points.

Hales, who finished runners-up in Division Six, have now conceded that position to Dereham A, while dropping all the way down to second from bottom in the table, after losing the points they originally took from the game and a further 25 were taken away. They wouldn't have been going up anyway due to league reorganisation. Bradfield finished sixth and moved above Hales as a result, having already had their points deducted.

The ruling read: 'Both Hales and Loddon and Bradfield A were found guilty by the disciplinary sub-committee of the Norfolk Alliance of failure to adhere to the ECB's code of conduct and the spirit of cricket incorporated in it, in particular the NCA's requirement that the highest standards both on and off the field are observed by clubs, in keeping with the dignity and best sporting traditions of the game. This follows an incident when the fixture ended prematurely after an on-field dispute regarding the application of the laws of cricket (2017 code) and the NCA match rules concerning the bowling of a non-pitching delivery above waist height.'