England batter Phil Salt has been cleared of bat row controversy by his club, Lancashire County Cricket Club (LCCC). The club confirmed the wicketkeeper-batter of any breach of the ECB's Anti-Corruption Code. The RCB player was accused of a potential breach of ECB's rules and regulations 3.2 and 3.3 after it emerged the right-hand batter's bat failed the on-field bat-gauge test during a mandatory test during a game in the Vitality Blast fixture.
When quizzed Salt, he said in his defense that he has been using the same bat consistently for the last two years for England, RCB, and Lancashire - and had never faced any issues during the bat-gauge test. On Tuesday, July 08, the Cricket Regulator's Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) officially cleared the wicketkeeper-batter for any misconduct. LCCC also confirmed that the bat used by the English batter during last week's game against the Northamptonshire Steelbacks has been given a green signal by the ACU.
For the unversed, during the first over of Lancashire Lightning's run chase, the on-field umpire conducted the bat-gauge test of Salt's bat as part of a mandatory process to check whether the bat being used is of the correct size. To pass the bat test, the size should not exceed the appropriate limit set by ICC. The right-hand batter's bat did not pass the bat-gauge test, and therefore, he was deemed to have not passed the test.
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Lancashire County Cricket Club issues official statement defending Phil Salt
In further tests carried out conducted after the game, it was deemed inconclusive despite the bat passing through several other tests on several other occasions. The club and the player felt the issue was resolved. However, the officials felt it was necessary to be taken for further testing.
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"At Lancashire, we believe this whole process could have been avoided with improved processes on and off the field, whether that be through better equipment and or additional training. Following the incident, there have been inappropriate comments made by match commentators, inaccurate articles written in the media, and some unsavory social media posts towards the player that could have been avoided," LCCC said in a statement.
After the process, Salt and the club have been informed that no further action will be taken.
