Gloucestershire pay penalty for poor pitch with t20 two-point deduction next season Gloucestershire's interest in this season's t20 ended as they discovered that will start next year's competition with a two-point deduction on an evening of double disappointment at Edgbaston. Gloucestershire slipped to their sixth defeat in eight group matches, despite a 52-ball 68 from captain Michael Klinger, which extinguished their already slim hopes of making the quarter-finals. The points deduction was imposed by an England and Wales Cricket Board pitch panel for the sub-standard surface they prepared for their match against Warwickshire at Cheltenham on July 14. The panel of Tony Pigott and Jack Birkenshaw concluded their investigations at Edgbaston and agreed with umpires Steve Garratt and Steve O'Shaughnessy that the Cheltenham pitch, which turned excessively, was poor. Gloucestershire, who were dismissed for 96 at Cheltenham, fared a little better on Wednesday night thanks to Klinger's aggression but Warwickshire off-spinners Ateeq Javid (three for 26) and Jeetan Patel, who bowled Klinger and Ed Young with his last two balls, still kept them in check on a used pitch. Warwickshire coasted home to win by seven wickets. Varun Chopra and William Porterfield led the chase with an opening stand of 68, and Rikki Clarke thumped three sixes in an Ed Young over on his way to a quickfire 40.