England prospect Jack Carson banned for attempted trip on batsman and three other players suspended after Sussex hit with 12 point penalty for ill-discipline, leaving their promotion hopes in tatters

Jack Carson admitted he “crossed the line” after poor discipline earned Sussex a 12-point deduction that appears to have destroyed their LV= Insurance County Championship Division Two promotion prospects.

Carson, the highly-rated England Lions player who could come into contention for next year’s Test tour of India, was handed a level two fixed penalty by the match referee after the victory last week against Leicestershire.

Footage from the match suggests a potential attempt to trip opposition batter Ben Cox at the bowler’s end could be the reason, while teammate Tom Haines was also slapped with a more minor grade one offence.

This takes Sussex to four in a season, triggering the points deduction which leaves them 30 behind second-placed Worcestershire with two games remaining.

Carson and Haines were both banned from playing against Derbyshire this week by Sussex, who also withdrew bowler Ari Karvelas “until an investigation into an incident in the Leicestershire match is completed”.

Sussex captain Cheteshwar Pujara has been automatically suspended for one match.

India’s star batter Cheteshwar Pujara, meanwhile, is paying the price for his captaincy during the violations and has also been automatically suspended for one match by the England and Wales Cricket Board.

“In the heat of the moment in the previous match against Leicestershire, my desperation to compete and ultimately win the match led me to cross the line in what is deemed acceptable in the spirit of cricket” , Carson said in a statement.

“I would like to apologize to my teammates and all our Sussex supporters for my actions during the match. I intend to learn from this experience and behave in a correct manner without losing my fierce determination to participate in all matches while representing the club.

Haines also expressed his regret, saying: “I would like to apologize to all Sussex supporters for overstepping the bounds when it comes to on-field discipline. It was born out of pure passion to compete and help the team win the game. This is something I will learn from and channel better into the next games for Sussex.

Head coach Paul Farbrace, a former England assistant, gave a harsh assessment of recent events.

“Following the decision of the referees and match referee to charge both players with level one and level two offenses on the field, we had to take a stand and show them that we will not tolerate such behavior.” , did he declare.

“It’s a real shame that these incidents have tarnished what was a fantastic game against Leicestershire and all the hard work put in over the season.”