Ajeet Singh Dale joined Lancashire on a three-year deal from Gloucestershire from this season.

The County Championship's injury replacement rules were questioned again as Lancashire's request to replace seamer Ajeet Singh Dale with Tom Bailey was denied. Singh Dale was bowling his second over of the day against Gloucestershire, his former club, when he pulled up with a hamstring injury.

Lancashire head coach Steven Croft said they asked for Bailey, also a right-arm fast bowler and who was already in the matchday squad, to play in his place but this was turned down on the basis of Bailey's superior experience. Ollie Sutton, an all-rounder who bowls left-arm seam, has been called up from Lancashire's second team instead.

"In our eyes, Tom is deemed to be a like-for-like replacement," Croft told BBC Radio Lancashire. "It's not like someone is coming in and bowling 10mph quicker. Instead, we've had to call up a left-arm seaming all-rounder and that doesn't sit right with us really.

"I don't know how it's come to that conclusion but we've got to crack on with it. I think it was based on stats and experience, but none of that was stipulated to us when the regulations came out."

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has declined to comment. The replacement player trial is being rolled out in county cricket for the first time this season, and it covers illness and significant life events as well as injuries.

However, Lancashire's complaint is one of many after the first few rounds of matches and the ECB have said the rules could be changed at the end of the first block of fixtures in the middle of May.

"There's always going to be grey areas but if Tom had bowled the next ball, I don't think anyone would have batted an eyelid," Croft added. "We certainly weren't trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes. It's a tough one to take and it's bizarre how it hasn't been granted."

In the first two rounds of matches, eight substitutions were made.