Essex captain Ryan ten Doeschate has been suspended for the Royal London Cup play-off against Yorkshire and will also miss the semi-final should the county qualify after amassing further penalty points.
The ECB's Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) handed ten Doeschate a three-point penalty after he was reported for a Level 1 breach during the County Championship match against Lancashire.
Level 1 covers willfully mistreating any part of the cricket ground, equipment or implements used in the match, and using language that in the circumstances, is obscene, offensive or insulting.
Ten Doeschate had previously been sanctioned by the CDC over the past 24 months and the further three points handed down for the latest breach pushes him to the nine-point threshold for an automatic suspension.
If Essex are knocked out of the Royal London Cup by Yorkshire then ten Doeschate will miss the County Championship match against Nottinghamshire from June 20 instead.
He has not had a prolific Royal London campaign with 112 runs in seven innings and three wickets.