MID-SUSSEX CRICKET LEAGUE CONSTITUTION 2018

Transcription

1 MID-SUSSEX CRICKET LEAGUE CONSTITUTION Title The competition known as the H.J.STONER MID-SUSSEX CRICKET LEAGUE shall formally affiliate, via Sussex Cricket Ltd. to the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) and shall formally adopt the ECB Disciplinary Model Rules, and Safe Hands policy. 2 Objectives The aims and objectives of the League are to:- a) promote and encourage the playing of competitive cricket in a friendly and sportsmanlike manner in order that the game may flourish; b) ensure that all clubs abide by the ECB Code of Conduct which incorporates the Spirit of Cricket and by the Laws of Cricket; c) ensure that all clubs provide a duty of care to all their members by adopting and implementing the ECB Disciplinary Model Rules and Safe Hands policy and any future versions of the Policy; d) encourage each club to provide the best possible conditions under which to play. 3 Membership a) all clubs shall affiliate to and adopt the above as a condition of membership; b) membership of the League is subject to an annual subscription currently 20 per club plus 20 team and affiliation fees for each team which shall be fixed at each AGM. No team shall participate in any game under the League s control (League, Cup, SM Trophy, Stoner Conference fixtures, or RD Cup) unless all monies due, which may include outstanding fines, are paid at least 7 days before the start of the new season; c) there shall be a minimum membership of 8 teams; d) there shall be no maximum limit and if necessary the competition shall be divided into two or more divisions; e) promotion and relegation between divisions shall be decided by the Executive Committee, but the aim shall be to promote and relegate two teams between divisions, unless circumstances decree otherwise. If a team which would otherwise qualify for promotion is debarred because there is a higher team from the same club in the division immediately above, the next highest side shall be offered promotion (See also 3j below); f) any side finishing at the bottom of the lowest division for two consecutive years must apply for re-election if it wishes to retain its membership. That side shall lose membership if deemed appropriate provided more than 75% of clubs in attendance at an Annual General Meeting or a Special General Meeting, are in agreement; g) new teams applying for membership shall be elected to the competition at an Annual or Special General Meeting provided a minimum of 75% of votes cast at that meeting are in agreement; h) new teams may be placed into any division that is deemed appropriate by the Executive Committee; i) clubs/teams may have their membership terminated at any time if at least 50% of the other clubs in membership at the time are in agreement to the termination;

2 j) no club may have more than one team in the same division. If the normal channels of promotion or relegation would have produced this situation, the Executive Committee shall have the power to determine placing of the teams affected for the following season. (See also 3e above); k) when a multi-team club is forced to scratch a fixture or fixtures, those scratching shall start with its lower/lowest team(s) in the Mid-Sussex Cricket League; l) the Executive Committee shall have the power to fine any team 50 for withdrawing from its competitions at any time between an AGM and the end of the following season s fixtures. 4 Annual General Meeting/Special General Meeting a) any proposed changes to this Constitution or the Playing Conditions either by clubs or the Executive Committee shall only be made at the AGM and shall be in the Secretary s hands no later than 7 days after the end of the League s season. Proposals may be made by either the Executive Committee or by member clubs who must get another member club or the Executive Committee to act as seconder to the proposal. b) in exceptional circumstances changes to the Constitution only (not the Playing Conditions) may be made at a Special General Meeting which may be called at the request of:- (i) a minimum of 4 clubs, or (ii) the Executive Committee; c) the AGM shall be held no later than 31st October each year, when each club shall be allowed to send two delegates (See also 4f below); d) clubs shall be given at least 14 days notice in writing or by of the date of the AGM/SGM; e) a quorum shall be no fewer than 75% representation of all clubs; f) each club, irrespective of the number of teams it has in the League shall be entitled to one vote only on any matter at the AGM/SGM The Chairman shall have the casting vote; g) any proposed changes at an AGM or SGM shall take effect provided more than 50% of clubs in attendance are in agreement. 5 Officers and Conduct of the League s Business a) the appointment of the President shall be made at the AGM He shall have the option to attend all League meetings; b) the day-to-day running of all matters concerning the League shall be administered by an Executive Committee comprising the following, all of whom shall be elected where possible at the AGM: President, Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and a maximum of 8 ex-officio members. If any position is contested, it shall be decided by secret ballot; c) this Executive Committee shall meet on a minimum of three occasions per year (pre season, in season and pre AGM) and additionally at the request of at least three of its members. A quorum of this committee shall be no fewer than 5; d) the Executive Committee shall have the power to enforce the Constitution and Playing Conditions of the League and to take disciplinary action, via its Disciplinary Sub Committee, against any team or player infringing them. It shall have the power to make a final decision, if it is impractical to wait for the AGM on any matter except:- i) election of new teams into the League,

3 ii) termination of an existing team s membership, and iii) changes to the Constitution or Playing Conditions which may only be made at an AGM or SGM; e) each club shall nominate a contact person to whom all League notices shall be sent and who shall be responsible for ensuring his club is aware of their contents; f) if a team or player is suspended as a result of disciplinary action and/or financial penalties, the Sussex Cricket Board shall be informed, as any such suspension must apply across all leagues; g) it is the responsibility of the home club to record the League result and full match scorecards via the Play- Cricket website by 10.00am the day following each match even if abandoned or cancelled. After 10.00am the day following each match your ability to access this page will be blocked. If you then need to add further details or make amendments this can only be done by sending the relevant information to Results Secretary. The result defaults will have been pre-set in the website and will update the League tables automatically, but each club s Play-Cricket website administrator will be required to fill out the batting and bowling points to facilitate this. Should the Play-Cricket website be down, the Excel score sheet can be used as a backup. Please complete the sheet and forward it to msclresults@gmail.com. An acknowledgement will act as confirmation for each result sheet received. It will then still be your responsibility to complete the Play-Cricket match information when the website becomes available. If the home team fails to post the full result and match scorecard details by 10.00am the day following each match, a penalty of 10 points will be deducted from the home side. Any appeal should be made no later than the following Tuesday after the disputed result. The Executive Committee will then make a decision and notify the home team of the outcome. 6 Finance a) there shall be an annual subscription for each team which shall be fixed at each AGM; b) a statement of accounts (audited by an independent financial adviser) for each financial year 1st January to 31st December shall be sent to each club s team and League contact no later than 31st March in the following year and details published on the League website; c) League funds shall be lodged in an approved Bank or Building Society account; d) all teams shall be accountable for the cost of TWO Presentation Event places, whether attending or not (Conference teams: ONE place). 7 Eligibility of Players a) only bona fide playing members, or potential playing members of a club as prescribed in their Constitution, are able to play in all matches under the auspices of the Mid-Sussex Cricket League. To this end, all players participating in league or cup matches shall be registered with the League using the Club websites, which are part of the Play-Cricket system. Detailed arrangements will be circulated by the Registration Secretary and will be made available to Member Clubs by 31 January each year; b) no player may play for more than one club in the same season, except in exceptional circumstances and only with the prior agreement of both clubs and the Executive Committee. A transfer is required if, having played a match in ANY Cricket League in the current season, a player wishes to play for a different club in the same season. However, no player shall be transferred to, or registered with, any League Club until such time as all financial and other obligations have been settled with the players previous Club and no transfers are permitted after 30 th June. Any Club in breach of these rules will be deemed to have fielded an ineligible player.

4 Full instructions can be found on the Transfer System page of the league website; c) no player who has played in County 2nd XI/Minor Counties cricket (or equivalent) or above in the previous five years may play in the competition. (For date purposes, the cut-off point shall be the start of the English season five years previously); d) no Member Club shall employ any person for the purpose of playing cricket. The Executive Committee shall have power to expel instantly from the competition any team found to have contravened this rule; e) a club must be able to prove, if challenged, that anyone who had played previously in a higher team from the same club was selected for a game under the auspices of the league on merit and not for reasons construed as an attempt to strengthen the side unfairly. Clubs may challenge via the protest system. (See Protest Disputes, protests, breaches of Playing Conditions or Constitution Rule 9 below); f) No team in the League shall have more than one overseas player in any match. A player, so long as he or she is (i) qualified for England under ECB regulations or (ii) if born in another country, has resided in this country continuously for 2 years in the last 5 or is, in the opinion of the Officers, ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, is entitled to play in a League match for the Club of which he or she is a bona-fide member. A player who does not fulfil conditions (i) or (ii) shall be deemed an overseas player and, though a Club may include more than one such player in its membership, only one may play in any team. 8 Fines and Penalties The Executive Committee shall have the power to impose fines/penalties, which may include the deduction of points, for breaches of the League s Constitution, Playing Conditions or Code of Conduct. Currently the League imposes the following fines/penalties:- a) failure of any club to be represented at a League meeting (whether AGM or SGM) - 20, with a further 20 fine for each successive occasion; b) failure of the appointed team to report relevant League or cup match result even if cancelled or abandoned as per the Results Secretary s instructions - a deduction of 10 points; c) failure to return trophies won the previous season to the League no later than 7 days after the end of the League s (Trophies may be returned to the H.J.Stoner shop or any Executive Committee member, whichever is the most convenient; d) withdrawal of team from the League at any time between the AGM and the end of the following season - 50; e) a side found to have fielded one or more ineligible players in any match(s) a penalty of 30 points for the offence and the loss of all points gained in the game(s) involved. Further, regardless of the actual result(s), the side(s) offended against shall have their points increased to the maximum obtainable for the offending match(s); f) a side found to have fielded one or more unregistered players in any match(es) a penalty of 10 points. If the player is not registered within 48 hours of the 10.00am deadline on the day after the match then the Executive can treat the player as ineligible and apply the penalties under Section 8e of the Constitution. g) failure of the home team to provide the correct balls - a deduction of 10 points for each offence. h) failure to fulfil a fixture (including not being ready to play 15 minutes after the scheduled start) 15 points to be deducted from the guilty side and 30 points to be awarded to its opponents. The guilty side shall be deemed to have lost the game, and its opponents to have won it.

5 i) failure to deal by the prescribed deadline with any correspondence by or otherwise or to provide any other report, material or information that may, from time to time, be called for by the Executive Committee All fines incurred in a season must be paid by 30th September that year. Failure to do so will mean a team will be penalised, 3 points for every owed as at 30 th September, so that team will begin the next season with a negative points tally. (See also Membership Rule 3.b above). 9. Protests, Disputes and breaches of Playing Conditions or Constitution a) any protest concerning a game and/or the eligibility of a player or player s involved or breach of the Playing Conditions or Constitution must be made either by post, hand, or other electronic means to the Secretary with a postmark no later than the Tuesday after the match. An message shall be deemed to be acceptable as a means of transmission if received by the Secretary by the same deadline as above. The submission is subject to a 20 fee which must be in the Secretary s possession before the protest can be considered. The fee will be forfeited if the protest is not upheld. b) any disputes, protests or breaches will be considered by the Executive Committee, or any disciplinary subcommittee appointed specifically to deal with the matter and the decision of such committee or subcommittee shall be final. (See Officers and Conduct of the League s Business Rule 5d above). c) however, clubs and players shall have the right of appeal against decisions taken under the provisions of Paragraph 9(b) above where the penalty to be imposed takes the form of a deduction of League points or would otherwise alter the result of a match. In these cases, only the penalised Club shall have the right of appeal. 10. Appeals Procedure a) any player or Club appealing a disciplinary decision must submit any new evidence either by post, hand, or other electronic means to the Secretary of the League with a postmark no later than seven days of the decision of the Disciplinary or other committee. The submission is subject to a 20 fee which must be in the Secretary s possession before the appeal can be considered. The fee will be forfeited if the protest is not upheld. b) in the event of such an appeal the League Chairman shall appoint an Appeals Committee consisting of not less than three members, drawn from the Executive Committee. No member of the Appeals Committee shall have any connection with the Club or players involved or with their opponents at the time of the alleged breach/incident or, if possible be part of the committee that considered the original case. One member shall be designated as Chairman. c) if Notice of Appeal is properly given with the required deposit, the penalty shall be suspended pending the hearing of the appeal, which shall take place as soon as is practicable. d) the appeal shall be by way of a re-hearing before the Appeals Committee where the player or Club shall have the same right of attendance and representation, and to call witnesses, as they had before the original committee. e) the Appeals Committee may confirm, vary, or reverse the decision of the original committee and it shall have the power to increase the penalty and make decisions as to the costs of the appeal hearing. If the Appeal is successful the committee may, at its discretion, decide to return some or all of the deposit. f) decisions made by the Appeals Committee, or if no appeal, by the Disciplinary Panel or other relevant committee, shall be final and binding. (See Officers and Conduct of the League s Business Rule 5d above).