Tom Harrison has insisted the ECBs treatment of Durham has been harsh but appropriate.Harrison, the ECBs chief executive, defended the decision to relegate Durham in the County Championship, impose a raft of points deductions in each of the 2017 domestic competitions and withdraw their status as a Test-hosting ground in return for a financial rescue package as a necessary deterrent to other counties.And while he did not fully confront the ECBs role in Durhams failure - notably the its encouragement of the club building a Test venue - he did suggest Durham had to take responsibility for bidding more than they could afford in the pursuit of major matches.Having been through the most serious financial crisis any county been through - to the extent that the ECB was the last resort - we have to send a message to the other counties that this is not something that is going to be an attractive solution for any county finding themselves in that position, Harrison told the BBCs Test Match Special. Its not the ECBs job to be the lender of last resort.In any business, you have to understand what your revenue is and what your costs are. If one gets out of whack it is not a pretty situation and it will end up hitting the wall at some point. The ECB had to step in to stop that happening in May or June this year. It was going to happen unless we had taken steps to avoid it.While it is very harsh in terms of the immediate penalties on the players for next year, I think it is appropriate and sends the message to other counties that this should be a significant deterrent. The playing sanctions are harsh but they are appropriate.Harrison accepted that the ECBs historic method for allocating games, which involved a bidding system, might have contributed to Durhams debts, but suggested the club had to take most of the responsibility. And he insisted that the measures taken had provided Durham with the foundations for financially stability in the future.The way matches were allocated was a bidding structure, he said. But no one was forced to bid a certain amount. Theres wasnt a sword of Damocles over their head about having to stage Tests.Our absolute priority was to safeguard the future of professional and recreational cricket in the northeast of England. Durham could now be in a position where, 12 months after the most serious financial crisis thats met any county, they are off and running with no debt and a new management structure and can look forward to the future in a very different way than when they were burdened by debt.Harrison also referred to the new-team domestic T20 competition - now set for a 2020 launch - as the most significant development in county cricket in a generation. 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IRVING, Texas -- The Big 12 Conference announced Tuesday that it has authorized commissioner Bob Bowlsby to begin exploring expansion candidates.The Big 12 board of directors met in Irving and deliberated on the merits of expansion, hearing presentations from two paid consultants on the issue.Bowlsby is expected to begin contacting schools to gauge their interest in the Big 12 in the coming days.?Its a forward step, a positive step, said Oklahoma president and board chair David Boren, who has been the most outspoken expansion proponent. Not yet a decision ... but it shows momentum on the board to consider [expansion] as a possibility.Boren said expansion by both two schools and four schools will be on the table.?Bowlsby told ESPN that its conceivable the conference would be ready to vote on specific expansion candidates before the boards regularly scheduled meeting in October.The Big 12 has been a 10-team conference since 2012, after Nebraska, Colorado, Texas A&M and Missouri left during the last major wave of realignment and TCU and West Virginia joined.The conference has been batting around the iddea of adding more members for more than a year and begins its search with plenty of suitors.dddddddddddd. The Big 12 has been getting pitches behind the scenes for months from American Athletic Conference schools such as Cincinnati, UConn, Memphis, Houston and Central Florida. BYU, a football independent, has made it known it wants into a Power 5 conference. Colorado State has also reached out to Big 12 leaders.Weve been contacted by a number of institutions, and I would imagine after this news breaks well be contacted again, Bowlsby said.Big 12 leaders have acknowledged that none of the available schools is a natural fit. None is guaranteed to deliver both highly competitive teams -- especially football teams -- as well as large new markets to increase the value of future media deals.We are looking for members that will grow over time as we grow, Bowlsby said. That bring stability. That have a high top end.Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.? ' ' '