DURHAM'S denial that they knew as early as May that they were to be relegated casts the England and Wales Cricket Board in further bad light.

The extraordinary allegation, supposedly made by ECB personnel at a meeting with Kent, was reported in The Times.

The October 6 meeting was held in response to Kent's threat to take legal action over the decision to deny them the division one place which has been snatched away from Durham.

Hampshire were reprieved instead and a letter from Kent's lawyers says the decision is “prejudicial, perverse and contrary to natural justice.” It also suggests the ECB is in breach of contract.

The Times also took the dubious step of reporting some hearsay from a conversation on a train said to involve high-ranking ECB officials, including chairman Colin Graves and chief operating officer Gordon Hollins, who once worked for Durham.

They are reported to have been discussing when to announce Durham's relegation and agreed it would be best left until after the end of the season.

That conversation is alleged to have taken place on September 15, the day Durham thought they had clinched safety in a thrilling 21-run win against Surrey.

The match featured Mark Wood, who emerged with a fractured ankle ruling him out of England's winter tours. He has since said he went into the game 60 per cent fit because he was desperate to help Durham stay up.

It is impossible to believe Durham would have allowed that to happen had they known they were to be relegated anyway. But it can be inferred from The Times report that this sanction had long been planned.

In that case, allowing Wood to play against Surrey suggests the ECB, with its cast of thousands, is a seriously malfunctioning body.

The letter from Kent's lawyers is also said to point out the absence of any published regulations relating to relegation as a punishment, although the ECB claim it was sufficient to tell counties that two would be relegated and one promoted.

Whether the law will see it that way will be very interesting if a costly case ensues. But whatever happens the ECB have landed themselves in a pickle under the chairmanship of Graves.

The former Costcutter boss set up a family trust to underwrite Yorkshire's debts, which are around three times those of Durham.

Without Graves's support Yorkshire would have gone bankrupt some time ago, as would Hampshire without their benefactor, Rod Bransgrove, who led the way in calling for Durham to be relegated.

There are bound to be suspicions that Bransgrove has influence with the ECB, and those suspicions will be as strong in Kent as in Durham.