ECB hand out penalty points for Notts pair James Taylor and Samit Patel

Nottinghamshire duo James Taylor and Samit Patel have been handed three penalty points for breaching the ECB’s code of conduct in recent County Championship games.

Taylor’s offences came against Yorkshire earlier this week, while Patel’s was in a match against Somerset.

Taylor, a member of the England squad during this month's one-day international series against New Zealand, was reported for two level one breaches.

Firstly, he showed dissent at an umpire's decision before carrying out an 'abuse of cricket ground equipment or fixtures/fitting'.

The ECB announced in a statement that the penalty for the initial level one offence is a reprimand and the penalty for the subsequent level one offence is three penalty points.

Meanwhile, Patel has been punished with three points for a level two breach of the code, which relates to showing serious dissent at an umpire's decision.

The penalties will remain on the players' records for a period of two years and the accumulation of nine or more penalty points during the same period will result in an automatic suspension.