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Code Of Conduct for All Club Members
Leigh on Sea Cricket Club is fully committed to safeguarding and promoting the well-being of all its members and guests. The Club believes it is important that members, coaches, administrators and parents associated with the Club should at all times, show respect and understanding of the safety and welfare of others. Therefore members are expected to be familiar with and abide by the Club’s Code of Conduct.
The Club also supports the Essex Cricket League Disciplinary Code, which applies to first XI League cricket only, and will apply the principles of this Code, to all players, both senior and youth, irrespective of the team they are representing. A copy of the Essex Cricket League Disciplinary Code is posted as an addendum to the Club Code of Conduct.
The Spirit of Cricket
Cricket is a game that owes much to its unique appeal to the fact that it should be played not only within the Laws but also within the spirit of the Game. Any action which is seen to abuse this spirit causes injury to the game itself. The major responsibility for ensuring the spirit of fair play rests with the captains.
General Guidelines
There are two Laws which clearly highlight the captain’s duties with regards to team discipline and conduct: Responsibility of captains: The captains are responsible at all times for ensuring that play is conducted within the Spirit of the Game as well as within the Laws. Player's conduct: In the event of a player failing to comply with instructions by an umpire, or criticising by word or action the decision of an umpire, or showing dissent, or generally behaving in a manner which might bring the game into disrepute, the umpire concerned shall in the first place report the matter to the other umpire and to the player's captain, and instruct the latter to take action.
Fair and unfair play
According to the Laws the umpires are the sole judges of fair and unfair play. The umpires may intervene at any time and it is the responsibility of the captain to take action where required.
The umpires are authorised to intervene in cases of:
- Time wasting
- Damaging the pitch
- Dangerous or unfair bowling
- Tampering with the ball
- Any other action that they consider to be unfair
The Spirit of the Game involves RESPECT for:
- Your opponents
- Your own captain
- The roles of the umpires
- The game's traditional values
It is against the Spirit of the Game:
- To dispute an umpire's decision by word, action or gesture
- To direct abusive language towards an opponent or umpire
- To indulge in cheating or any sharp practice, for instance:
- to appeal knowing that the batsman is not out
- to advance towards an umpire in an aggressive manner when appealing
- to seek to distract an opponent either verbally or by harassment with persistent clapping or unnecessary noise under the guise of enthusiasm and motivation of one's own side
Violence
There is no place for any act of violence on the field of play.
Players
Captains and umpires together set the tone for the conduct of a cricket match. Every player is expected to make an important contribution towards this.
Specific Requirements of the Club Code of Conduct
As a member of Leigh on Sea Cricket Club you are expected to:
- Play within the rules and respect officials and their decisions
- Respect and obey instructions from Captains or any other Club Official. The Club will not tolerate any display of dissent, verbal or not, or failure to follow an instruction, whether during a match or not.
- Respect the rights, dignity and worth of all participants regardless of gender, ability, age, cultural background or religion.
- Wear suitable kit for training and matches as agreed with the Captain or Club Official
- Pay all fees due to the Club promptly. The club does not operate a “Credit” policy.
- Not consume alcohol if legally under age, not take any prohibited drugs either on or in the proximity to the Clubhouse or on the premises of any opponent.
- Complete Match Manager, Bar, Pavilion Cleaning and any other duties as requested by the Club to the best of your ability, when requested, ensuring you make the necessary arrangements to gain access if required.
- Ensure that you do not enter the bar area of the Club, unless specifically requested to do so by a General or Bar Committee member or team captain, or as part of your Bar duty responsibilities. You are also expected to report any suspicious activity or unauthorised entry to the bar by other persons as soon as is practicable to a member of the General Committee.
- To arrive promptly for all designated meeting times and where necessary, to ensure you have arranged adequate transport if needed.
- To complete Self Declaration forms as required by the Club to comply with Child Protection requirements
Additional requirements for parents/carers
- Encourage your child to learn the rules and play within them.
- Discourage unfair play and arguing with officials.
- Help your child to recognise good performance, not just results.
- Never force your child to take part in sport.
- Set a good example by recognising fair play and applauding the good performances of all.
- Never punish or belittle a child for losing or making mistakes.
- Publicly accept officials’ judgements.
- Support your child’s involvement and help them to enjoy their sport.
- Use correct and proper language at all times.
- Encourage and guide participants to accept responsibility for their own performance and behaviour.
- Never use threatening behaviour towards children, officials, coaches or other parents.
Additional requirements for Club Officials and Volunteers
The essence of good ethical conduct and practice is summarised below. All coaches, officials and volunteers must:
- Consider the wellbeing and safety of participants before the development of performance.
- Develop an appropriate working relationship with performers, based on mutual trust and respect.
- Make sure all activities are appropriate to the age, ability and experience of those taking part.
- Promote the positive aspects of the sport (e.g. fair play)
- Display consistently high standards of behaviour and appearance
- Follow all guidelines laid down by the national governing body and the club
- Hold the appropriate, valid qualifications and insurance cover
- Never exert undue influence over performers to obtain personal benefit or reward
- Never condone rule violations, rough play or the use of prohibitive substances
- Encourage performers to value their performances and not just results.
- Encourage and guide participants to accept responsibility for their own performance and behaviour.
Disciplinary Procedures
A Disciplinary Committee, appointed by and comprising of General Committee members, will be responsible for disciplinary hearings of members who infringe Club rules, the constitution or the Code of Conduct. The committee has the responsibility to take any action of suspension or discipline following such hearings which may include:
- To require a member to write a letter of apology within a specified period of time
- To record a reprimand and give a warning over future conduct
- To suspend a player from consideration for selection for a defined period or number of matches
- To suspend membership from the Club for a defined period
- To impose a fine not exceeding £100
- To refer the case to the General Committee.
The General Committee only can terminate the membership of an individual or impose a fine of more than £100.
Discipline & Appeals
All complaints, written or oral, regarding the behaviour of members should be submitted to the Club Chairman in the first instance.
The Disciplinary Committee will gather evidence and take submissions and convene a hearing within 15 days of the complaint being lodged. Any member requested to attend any hearing is entitled to be accompanied and represented by another Club member or other representative.
The Disciplinary Committee will notify the outcome of the hearing within 15 days of the hearing to all parties concerned and will then determine whether details of the complaint are made public or be subject to confidentiality rules.
Members are given the right of appeal to the Club Chairman within 7 days of notification of any outcome reached by the Disciplinary Committee. Any appeal will be will heard within 15 days of notification of appeal and all decisions reached thereafter are deemed final.
Outcomes reached by the General Committee are deemed final with no right of appeal.
Summary
The Code of Conduct is intended to give clear guidance to all Club members of the expectations of the Club. The Code also forms a key part of our overall Child welfare and Clubmark Accreditation policy.
APPENDIX – Essex League Disciplinary Code (applicable to ALL Leigh on Sea CC playing members) - June 09
Disciplinary Code for 2009 for all 1st XI Divisions
CAPTAINS AND TEAMS
Captains and Teams are already marked by the umpires on the assessment sheet.
They are both given a mark of 4 – Excellent / 3 – Good / 2 – Average / 1 – Poor / 0 – Unacceptable.
If a mark of 0 - Unacceptable is recorded by the umpires on the sheet for either captain or team behaviour then they must record further details of this mark on the assessment sheet, and inform the relevant captain once the match is complete.
- If this relates to the captain, then the captain is banned for 8 days and the team deducted 4 points.
- If this mark relates to the team then the team is docked 4 points.
- All subsequent marks of 0 – Unacceptable received in the same season would result in double the penalty.
- If this relates to the captain, then the captain is banned for 16 days and the team deducted 8 points.
- If this mark relates to the team then the team is deducted 8 points.
If a mark of 1 – Poor is recorded by the umpires on the sheet for either captain or team behaviour then they must also record further details of this mark on the assessment sheet, and inform the relevant captain once the match is complete.
- A final warning letter is sent to the league representative of that club warning the club if they were to receive a further mark of 1 – Poor they would be subject to further penalty
- The league representative for the club will be telephoned to ensure receipt of this information prior to that clubs next league game.
- If a second mark of 1 – Poor is subsequently received by the same team in a different match in the same season for either captain or team behaviour a further penalty would be imposed.
- If this relates to the captain, then the captain is banned for 8 days and the team deducted 4 points.
- If this mark relates to the team then the team is docked 4 points.
- All subsequent marks of 1 – Poor received would result in the same penalty.
A short sentence should be sufficient to describe a mark of 1. A more detailed account should be given for a mark of 0.
All of these marks will be recorded on the current assessment sheets which will be redeveloped to include this.
PLAYERS
In addition there will be a separate section for any disciplinary incidents involving specific players, other than the captain, on the umpires assessment sheet:-
The list of the types of offence can be found at the end of this document.
There are two categories of offences – RED and YELLOW
- RED are more serious offences and will bring more severe penalties
- YELLOW are less serious offences but still require reporting.
For RED offences umpires must record further details of the event and inform the relevant captain once the match is complete.
- A RED offence carries an 8 day ban and the player’s team will be deducted 4 points.
- If the Disciplinary Officer feels that this may be an insufficient penalty for the offence in question a formal Disciplinary hearing will be called.
This may lead to further sanctions being imposed on the club, such as fines and more lengthy suspensions or more severe points deductions.
For YELLOW offences umpires must record further details of the event on the assessment sheet and inform the relevant captain once the match is complete.
- A YELLOW offence will lead to a final warning letter being sent to the league representative of that club warning the player in question, if he were to commit any other YELLOW offence in the same season they would be subject to further penalty.
- The league representative for the club will be telephoned to ensure receipt of this information prior to that clubs next league game.
- If the same player commits any further YELLOW offences in the same season he would be banned for 8 days and his team deducted 4 points
It is up to the umpire’s discretion whether a particular offence is a RED or YELLOW offence. Although some offences may only be classed as red as detailed in the final section of this document.
NOTES AND GUIDANCE
As is current practise, umpires are still able to warn teams / players to improve / amend their behaviour / actions on the pitch before committing to report a YELLOW or RED offence.
It is imperative that both umpires agree on any misdemeanours to be reported following the game when they fill in the club assessment sheet together. This does not mean that both umpires have to witness the alleged offence(s).
- Only a short sentence is required to describe a YELLOW offence.
- A YELLOW offence would be one that perhaps an umpire, may in the past have turned a blind eye to, but is still a misdemeanour, and would require an official warning.
- A more detailed report would be required for a RED offence.
- A RED offence would be one that an umpire would have reported under previous seasons guidelines.
- Players and Teams on report (IE With 1 YELLOW offence or one mark of 1-Poor) will not be publicised other than to the club in question – the person in charge of collating the umpires assessment sheets will keep a record and apply appropriate penalties when necessary.
- There will be a section on the website to publicise any points deductions and suspensions.
- Any suspensions of players will apply to all cricket, as is current practise of the ECCB. This will include all other leagues, cups and friendlies.
- The club will be informed by telephone (letter to follow) to confirm details of the player / team’s offences and subsequent point deduction / suspension. This contact will be made by midnight of the Friday following the offence.
- The player suspension will start on the Monday following telephone notification, unless the club decides to appeal. In this case the ban would start immediately after the appeal hearing, if the ban is still to be enforced.
A club may appeal against points deductions and a player may appeal against suspensions. They may do so for up to 48 hours post the telephone notification of the deduction / suspension. However they may only do this if they have specific evidence that is contrary to the evidence supplied by the two neutral umpires. The cost of an appeal is £500. This will be returned if the appeal is successful.
OFFENCES
- Hitting or kicking down stumps – RED OFFENCE ONLY
- Abusive language / disparaging remarks to an umpire – RED OFFENCE ONLY
- Physical abuse or threatening behaviour towards a player or umpire – RED OFFENCE ONLY
- Offensive swearing that can be heard beyond the boundary
- Throwing helmet, bat or gloves
- Directing an outgoing batsman to return to the pavilion
- Showing dissent on being given out
- Abusive language / disparaging remarks to another player
- Aggressive or unruly behaviour on or off the pitch
- Time wasting
- Ridiculous or aggressive appealing
- Any other action construed as unfair play or bringing the game into disrepute
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