Sussex have been told to clean up their act or face a points deduction.

The county have admitted to five code of conduct breaches inside a year.

All relate to dissent against umpires’ decisions.

Although they were spread across two seasons, they happened in a three-month period when cricket was actually in progress.

Two more breaches in the next year will see them docked points.

The suspended penalty is 12 points in the LV= Insurance County Championship and/or two points in the Royal London Cup and/or two points in the Vitality Blast.

An ECB report reveals umpire Ian Gould has already spoken to the squad about their conduct.

All breaches were classed as “level one” which is the lower end of the misbehaviour scale.

The ECB were told Sussex had taken steps to improve their behaviour.

In March, players and coaches discussed dissent and other behavioural issues with Gould, the highly experienced official and former Sussex wicketkeeper.

Since then, there had been only one breach involving a cricketer who attended that meeting.

The county have not been fined or ordered to pay costs.