Michael Atherton says the punishment from the England and Wales Cricket Boards to relegate Durham from Division One of the County Championship is harsh. Kam Chancellor Jersey . Durham have accepted financial aid of £3.8m from the ECB - but the price for that is relegation, and a points deduction in all three competitions next year. Durham down after ECB sanction Durham relegated to second division after ECBs points deduction While Atherton believes the punishment looks harsh on paper, he says it serves as proof that the ECB dont wish to make a habit of bailing out counties struggling financially. There are a lot of clubs for whom debt has been spiralling out of control, said Atherton. Some are even in more debt than Durham, but have greater revenue streams coming in to help. Durham were unable to provide further revenue streams at Emirates Riverside to boost funds For Durham, without this bailout, it would have been difficult for them to survive.When you look at things in black and white, a points deduction and relegation does look a pretty harsh penalty, but the ECB dont want to be seen as a lender of last resort. Durham have been relegated to County Championship Division Two after accepting a £3.8m rescue payment from the ECB Plus, if the ECB were going to hand out sanctions in return for the money - which they decided they must do - its difficult to know what else they could do. They clearly couldnt give Durham a financial penalty obviously, because that would be self-defeating. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just £6.99. No contract. Sadly, its the players who are being penalised here with relegation, but Durham have got good young players - they won the second XI championship last year - and some players have re-signed, like Keaton Jennings. England hopeful Keaton Jennings will have to play in Division Two with Durham next year While they have lost one or two - Mark Stoneman and Scott Borthwick both going to Surrey, shortly after the players had been told about the seriousness of the financial situation - theyve got a very able and experienced captain in Paul Collingwood.Durham were very competitive this year, as indeed they have been for a long time. Theyre an unbelievable success story from a cricketing perspective. Sir Ian Botham says he will assist Durham in their recovery following their relegation to County Championship Division Two. Theyve won plenty of trophies, produced more young England cricketers of late by virtually every other county than Yorkshire, I suspect.On a pure cricketing basis, theyre a success story, but theyll now have to haul themselves off the floor after this decision.You can watch Englands tour of Bangladesh, plus Premier League football and the Japan Grand Prix on Sky Sports. Upgrade now and enjoy three months at half price! Also See: Durham down after ECB sanction Fixtures/results Live cricket on Sky Get Sky SportsCortez Kennedy Jersey . Louis Cardinals for the National League Wild Card, are in the drivers seat as they open the final series of the regular season, but they face a large task in the form of the Philadelphia Phillies. Jimmy Graham Jersey .C. -- The Charlotte Bobcats said head coach Steve Clifford underwent a successful procedure Friday to have two stents placed in his heart.FALL RIVER, Mass. - The judge overseeing the murder trial of former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez on Friday settled on a pool of 53 prospective jurors from which the court will try to seat 18 jurors.Opening statements in the case are expected Tuesday, though that could change.It depends on whether we lose some of those cleared jurors on Monday, said Mark Ferriera, an assistant clerk at the Bristol County Superior Court.He said Judge Susan Garsh was expected to ask the pool of jurors on Monday if they would have trouble being fair and impartial, then allow prosecutors and the defence to exercise whats called peremptory challenges, which allow them to excuse a juror for any reason. Each side gets 18 peremptories.If both sides use all their challenges, or if jurors are excused by the court for another reason, the court might not have the 18 jurors it needs and would return to the slow process of questioning individual jurors.Hernandez, 25, has pleaded not guilty to murder in the death of Odin Lloyd, 27, who was found shot to death in June 2013 at an industrial park near Hernandezs home in North Attleborough. At the time of Lloyds killing, Hernandez had a $40 million contract with the Patriots. The sister of Hernandezs fiancee wwas dating Lloyd. Chris Carson Jersey. .Jury selection has lasted two weeks so far and started with a pool of more than 1,000 prospective jurors. During the first phase, prospective jurors filled out a 51-question survey that asked, for example, whether they were fans of the Patriots. After excusing many jurors who expressed biases or said they had hardships or other valid reasons not to serve on the jury, Garsh has worked since last week to question jurors individually to whittle the pool down further.The process has played out in open court but outside the hearing of onlookers. As white noise played over the courtroom speakers, Garsh has murmured questions to prospective jurors while Hernandez, his lawyers and prosecutors huddled around to hear their answers. Onlookers could only hear whether a prospective juror was excused or retained in the pool.Eighteen jurors must be seated. That number includes six alternates, who will be randomly selected immediately before deliberations.The trial will not be the end of Hernandezs legal troubles. He faces separate murder charges in Boston, where he is accused of killing two men after one of them accidentally spilled a drink on him at a nightclub in 2012. The trial date has not yet been set. 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