Michael Atherton says the punishment from the England and Wales Cricket Boards to relegate Durham from Division One of the County Championship is harsh. 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 Sports Nike Air Max 270 Discount .J. Hardy finally got in on the fun Saturday, against a likely opponent. Air Max 270 Mens Cheap . Dougie Hamilton and Jordan Caron scored in the first period after the Red Wings had miscues on the ice and Tuukka Rask finished with a 23-save shutout, giving Boston a 3-0 win over the Red Wings and a 2-1 series lead in their first-round series. http://www.max270cheap.com/air-max-270-mens-sale.html. After all, the No. 8 seed is chasing far loftier goals. Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., defeated American Jack Sock 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in Wimbledons second round on Thursday. Air Max 270 Just Do It White . In the late match, Shinji Okazaki scored two goals to pace Mainz to a 3-2 victory at Werder Bremen. Goals from Milan Badelj, Maximilian Beister and Hakan Calhanoglu ended Hamburgs two-match losing run and kept Hannover winless in seven games. Nike Air Max 270 Ispa Black .J. Fair didnt have many chances to be the main option for Syracuse last season.The Pittsburgh Penguins may be looking into their past for potential general manager candidates. According to Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal, sources say former Penguins assistant coach and current TV analyst Pierre McGuire has had two interviews with the team. The Penguins fired Ray Shero last month after the team gave up a 3-1 series leaad before being eliminated by the New York Rangers in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.dddddddddddd McGuire was part of Scotty Bowmans coaching staff when the Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 1992. He would go on to become the head coach of the Hartford Whalers for one season, posting a record of 23-37-7 in 67 games. ' ' '