Leicestershire's Division One points total has risen from 111 to 119 as a result of the amended sanction

Leicestershire have had eight points of their 27-point County Championship deduction reinstated but their Division One status remains in limbo.

The original penalty for breaching pitch regulations, relating to their win against Glamorgan in August, was announced on 16 September.

The amendment to the punishment comes after the Cricket Regulator raised with the Cricket Discipline Panel (CDP) whether the 19-point penalty imposed under the County Championship's playing conditions had been taken into account when making its original decision.

The Cricket Regulator said it had "raised this issue with the CDP and Leicestershire CCC in the interests of fairness and transparency".

A section of the County Championship's playing conditions state that teams charged with producing a pitch rated as poor or below average, and the CDP upholding the charge, would receive zero points from the fixture in question.

Leicestershire took 19 points from the match against Glamorgan - 16 for winning and three bonus points - which were removed but remain the subject of appeal.

The CDP had applied an additional eight-point deduction, a further eight-point penalty suspended for a year, plus a £5,000 fine.

The latter two sanctions remain part of the amended decision but the eight-point deduction for this season has been waived.

Without the 27 points being docked, Leicestershire would have finished two points above the relegation zone.

After the eight-point reinstatement but with the 19-point penalty still in place, the Foxes are 17 points behind Essex and will be relegated if their appeal is unsuccessful.

Leicestershire had already stated their intention to appeal against the panel's decision and a statement by chief executive Emma White said the club's position is "unchanged" by the amendment.

Leics on brink of relegation after points deduction

Leicestershire's Ian Holland reacts during the defeat against Warwickshire that has left the Foxes facing relegation

In its amended decision, the panel said that "in a 162-page bundle prepared by the Cricket Regulator for the tribunal in advance of the original hearing on 12 September, there was no reference by the Cricket Regulator to the County Championship playing conditions and specifically no reference at all to Playing Condition 16.2.6".

It added that its "clear view" was that "eight points is the appropriate deduction and no more".

Confirming it was removing the immediate eight-point sanction, the panel said: "Regrettably that is the limit of this tribunal's powers given that, as both parties agree, it has no power to interfere in any way with the applicability of Playing Condition 16.2.6.

"If it had the power to do so, this tribunal makes it plain that it would have reduced the points deduction to the eight points it imposed in its original decision."

In a statement,, external the Cricket Regulator said: "Following the initial hearing on 11 September and the decision of 15 September, a question arose as to whether the separate 19-point deduction imposed under the Playing Conditions should have been taken into account by the CDP when considering the proportionality of the sanction imposed under the Pitch Regulations.

"In the interests of fairness and transparency, the Cricket Regulator raised this issue with the CDP and Leicestershire CCC. The CDP has now considered this issue and adjusted their decision on the sanction accordingly.

"The amended decision only adjusts the sanction imposed by the CDP in relation to the Pitch Regulations. It does not impact the finding that the charge for a breach of the Pitch Regulations was upheld, and it does not impact the 19-points deduction imposed as a result of the Playing Conditions."

White's statement on Leicestershire's website, external said: "The panel made clear that the latest hearing and amended decision, which relates to the sanction alone, were not appeal proceedings.

"Our position on the charge is therefore unchanged. We continue to believe it should not have been upheld and that we ought not to have suffered the points deduction we have.

"We therefore still intend to appeal, focusing upon the process and resultant evidential position upon which the panel was caused to decide the case."

Both the Cricket Regulator and Leicestershire said it would not comment further while the appeal process is ongoing.