Kent County Cricket Club has "threatened to sue" the England & Wales Cricket Board unless the governing body "reconsiders its decision not to promote" the club to the first division of the County Championship, according to Elizabeth Ammon of the LONDON TIMES. In a "strongly-worded" legal letter, Kent's lawyers assert that the decision was "prejudiced, perverse and contrary to natural justice" and that the ECB is in breach of contract, which Kent would be willing to address through court action. Kent was runner-up in the second division, "which would have merited promotion in previous seasons; however the ECB is reducing the top tier from nine teams to eight next season, meaning that only one team," Essex, was promoted. But Kent claims that after Durham was relegated as punishment for financial assistance from the ECB, it "should have been promoted along with Essex." Instead, Hampshire, which finished second from bottom in the top division, was "spared relegation." Although Kent has said that it could take legal action, the club has "called in the first place for independent arbitration involving the ECB, Hampshire and Kent." The ECB has been "given seven days to accept the proposal for an independent panel or Kent will look to begin more formal court proceedings" (LONDON TIMES, 10/13).
