SECTION 2 - CONSTITUTION OF THE LEAGUE

(Clubs please note that in all cases the Management Committee’s decision is final)

1. TITLE

The organisation shall be called the Kookaburra Mid Bucks Cricket League (in association with Hawkinsport & Son).

2. OBJECTS

The objects of the league shall be to promote annual adult and youth leagues, knock-out competitions and other cricket events, including representative matches.

3. EQUALITY

The league will execute its objectives fairly and without prejudice to age, gender, disability, race, ethnic origin, creed, colour, social status and sexual orientation.

4. MEMBERSHIP

(a) The League shall be open to all clubs whose playing strength, playing areas, changing facilities and tea facilities meet the standards laid down by the Management Committee or an Extraordinary General Meeting.

(b) Each member club must be affiliated to the Buckinghamshire Cricket Board or, for those member clubs not located within Buckinghamshire, the cricket board of the county in which they are located.

(c) The league fully supports and adopts the ECB “Safe hands – Cricket’s Policy for Safeguarding Children”. Each member club must adopt the ECB “Safe Hands” policy and produce a club “Safeguarding Document”.

(d) Any member club wishing to withdraw from the league must inform the League Secretary, in writing, before the 1st.October.

(e) All member clubs must be insured for public liability.

5. SUBSCRIPTION

Each member club must pay an annual subscription (currently £50), as determined by the Management Committee, by March 1st each year. The Management Committee shall have the power to raise additional subscriptions on an annual basis. Any club failing to comply with this rule will be fined the sum of £10.00

6. MANAGEMENT

(a) The management of the League shall be vested in a Management Committee which shall consist of President, Chairman, General Secretary, Fixture Secretary, Treasurer and ten members elected from clubs of the league.

(b) All officials of the league shall retire annually, but shall be eligible for re-election at the Annual General Meeting which shall be held in December each year.

(c) Each club must send a representative to an Annual General Meeting and any Extraordinary General Meetings. Any member club not represented at an Annual General Meeting or at an Extraordinary General Meeting will be fined £10.00

(d) Each club shall be entitled to one vote on any matter other than for the election of the Management Committee (see Constitution Rule 6j), or on any matter that only affects reserve teams when only clubs having a reserve side shall be entitled to vote.

(e) Any proposal put forward by a club must be seconded by another club of the League.

(f) Any proposed alteration to the Constitution or to the Rules of Play must be put in writing and received by the General Secretary before October 1st. The General Secretary shall circularise all member clubs with these proposals no later than November 1st.

(g) Extraordinary General Meetings can be called at the written request of not less than five member clubs, or at the discretion of the League President, League Chairman, or General Secretary.

(h) The President, Chairman, General Secretary, Fixture Secretary and Treasurer shall not be allowed to vote on any matter but the chairman of the meeting shall have a casting vote in the event that the same number of votes are cast for and against any motion.

(i) A quorum of the Management Committee shall consist of four members.

(j) Candidates for a seat on the Management Committee must be nominated by their member club. In the event of more than ten candidates being nominated, ballot papers shall be prepared and voted upon at the Annual General Meeting, each club to have ten votes. No club shall nominate more than one representative for the Management Committee.

(k) All decisions of the league shall be by simple majority of the members present.

(l) Any moneys received by the League Treasurer shall be paid into the League’s account within seven days of receipt.

7. POWERS OF THE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

(a) All questions of eligibility, qualification of players, interpretation of rules, or any question in dispute not provided for in these rules, shall be referred to the Management Committee, whose decision shall be final.

(b) Protests and disputes will only be considered by the management committee when they are submitted in writing by a club’s secretary and enclosed with a £25 lodgement fee. Formal written details together with the lodgement fee must be sent to the league’s General Secretary within 5 days of the event or dispute taking place. The club raising the issue must send a copy of the details to all other clubs mentioned or involved in the protest or dispute. A Disciplinary Sub Committee will be set up consisting of three members of the management committee. The sub-committee will fix a date, time and venue to meet representatives of the disputing clubs within 14 days of the event. The £25 lodgement fee will be returned if the protest or dispute is upheld.

(c) Any vacancies on the management committee shall be advertised to all clubs to ensure that a full management committee exists at all times.

8. UNGENTLEMANLY BEHAVIOUR

In order to reduce the element of misbehaviour on the cricket field, any player reported for ungentlemanly behaviour, either by an Umpire or one of the participating clubs, shall be subject to disciplinary action as determined by the Management Committee. This could include fines, deduction of points, or suspension.

9. FINES

(a) In addition to the fines specifically mentioned in these rules, the Management Committee shall have the power to impose fines on clubs for other offences, subject to a maximum of £10 per offence.

(b) The Management Committee shall also have the power to increase the fines imposed on persistent offenders of a rule, subject to a maximum of double the normal sum.

(c) Fines must be paid within 20 days of notification. Failure to do so will result in an automatic doubling of the fine and the deduction of points.

(d) The level of fines shall normally be reviewed annually by the Management Committee who shall present any proposed changes to the Annual General Meeting for approval by the member clubs of the league.

10. DIVISIONS

(a) The competing teams shall be divided into a Premier, First, Second and Third Division (and more if necessary).

(b) Automatic promotion and relegation of the top two and bottom two teams shall apply to all divisions, subject to the following:

- No club shall have two teams in the same division. The first team position shall take priority in the promotion and relegation status.

- The Management Committee shall have the power to override the normal promotion and relegation rules if they feel it necessary, to be in the best overall interests of the league.

- The placing of new teams entering the League shall be at the discretion of the Management Committee.

- Reserve teams shall be invited to be promoted to a higher division, but will have the right to decline.

11. TROPHIES

(a) The team obtaining the greatest number of points during the season shall be champions of their respective division and shall hold the challenge cup until the following season.

(b) In the event of two or more teams tying for first place the champion team shall be decided based on most wins, most winning draws, most ties and then most losing draws. If more than one team is level after these results have been taken into account then special play-off games will be held.

(c) All trophies must be returned to the league secretary suitably engraved by the holders, by July 31st each year.

12. CLUB SECRETARIES

(a) Each member club must notify the General Secretary of the name and address of their respective club secretary within fourteen days of any change being made.

(b) Club secretaries must reply to any official correspondence from the League Officers within 28 days (unless otherwise stated) of the date on the correspondence. Failure to do so will result in the club being fined the sum of £10.00.

13. THE LAWS OF CRICKET

All matches shall be played under the Laws Of Cricket approved by the MCC (2000 Code 3rd. Edition – 2008), except where the League Rules of Play expressly state differently.

14. FIXTURES

(a) The fixtures list for each season shall be prepared as soon as practical after the annual general meeting by the Fixture Secretary. Each member club shall be supplied with a copy of their fixtures as soon as they are completed by the Fixture Secretary.

(b) If a club can foresee a problem with a fixture date for the following season a written request must be submitted to the Fixture Secretary before the Annual General Meeting. (Note: League matches always run from the first Saturday in May for a total of 18 weeks. The dates of league matches cannot be altered.)

15. REGISTRATION OF PLAYERS

(a) Any bona fide member of a member club shall be allowed to play for that club in matches organised by the League provided that the player is registered with the league before competing in his first match in the season concerned. The league will supply each club with a list of players deemed to be registered for that club by the 1st March each year. All clubs must supply the league secretary with an updated list of all players to be registered for that club with an allocated registration number before the season starts. Any additional players to be registered after the lists have been supplied must be notified to the league secretary either by the supply of an updated list, or by submitting a registration form. Registration is completed when an acknowledgement has been received back from the league secretary. In Division 1, 2 and 3 urgent registrations may be authorised on match days by obtaining the opposing captains signature on a registration form before the game starts. The registration form must then be submitted with the result card for that match.

(b) The dates of birth for all registered players under 18 on the previous 31st August must be notified to the league secretary either on the registration list or on a new registration form. (The age of under 18 year olds must also be entered on the results card see Rules of Play - League Matches) Section 7 and Rules of Play - Knockout Matches Section 9).

(c) No player shall be allowed to be registered with more than one member club in the same season. Players may however be transferred between the 1st May and the 1st August each year. Only one transfer shall be allowed for each player in any one season. An application to transfer a player between clubs must be made in writing and signed by the player, the secretary of the club holding the existing registration and the secretary of the club to which the player wishes to transfer. The transfer will be completed when acknowledgement has been received from the league secretary.

(d) If a registered player plays regularly for a non member club on a Saturday then special permission must be sought from the league management committee before submitting a registration form. If a registered player starts to play regularly for another club on a Saturday his registration with this league will be immediately cancelled.

(e) Special permission must be sought from the management committee before registering a player who has received a payment or benefit in kind in any form from any club or sponsor related to playing cricket. Before registration will be considered the following details must be supplied to the committee – nature of the financial reward, details of any club that the player is currently playing for; details of other clubs that the player has played for in the past five years.

(f) Any club playing a non registered player in a league match will be fined the sum of £5.00 per non registered player. The team playing a non-registered player will be deemed to have scratched, and the match awarded to their opponents by way of a walkover. Additional action by way of additional monetary or points fines shall be at the discretion of the Management Committee.

(g) Any club playing a non registered player in a knockout match will be fined the sum of £5.00 per non registered player and, subject to Management Committee discretion the match will be awarded to their opponents.

16. UMPIRES AND SCORERS

(a) Each team must provide its own umpire and scorer. For league matches umpires must each be paid a minimum of £10.00. Should it be impossible to commence any match due to bad weather a fee of £5 must be paid to each umpire.

(b) Umpires must be know the Laws of Cricket and be at least 18 years of age unless they have attended an Umpires Course run by The League, ECB or The Bucks Association of Umpires & Scorers.

(c) Scorers are encouraged to attend a course run by The league, ECB or The Bucks Association of Umpires & Scorers and be able to concentrate fully for the length of the match.

17. GENERAL CONDITIONS OF PLAY

(a) No game may be scratched without notifying the Fixture Secretary and the opposition. The opposition must then phone the captain of the team scratching the match to confirm that the fixture has indeed been scratched. Reserve teams who are unable to field a full team and scratch a game on or before Wednesday of a match shall incur no fine. Any team scratching three or more games during a season must re-apply for membership at the next Annual General Meeting.

(b) The home team must provide: table and chairs for scorers, umpires coats in good condition, a visible scoreboard, and must ensure that sawdust is available for the fielding team in wet conditions.

(c) Boundary lines must be clearly marked on all boundaries.

(d) The minimum number of players required to constitute a team shall be 8. A team fielding fewer than 8 players at any time during a match will automatically forfeit the match and be fined the sum of £25.00. The game will be treated as a scratched game.

18. NOMINATION OF PLAYERS

In accordance with The Laws of Cricket, captains must nominate their team before the start of the match by entering the names, registration numbers and dates of birth of any Under 18 year old players in their team onto the result card. The result of the toss must be entered on the card which should then be passed to the umpires to enable them to make sure that the ECB directives relating to young players are fully applied. The names and registration numbers entered must be the identical to those used on the registration form.

19. REPORT OF MATCHES

(a) The home team captain is responsible for ensuring that the result card already completed with the nominated players is retrieved from the umpire, fully completed with scores and signed by both umpires and captains. The card must then be delivered or posted to the fixture secretary.

(b) Both Home and Away teams are encouraged to submit match results over the Internet using the league’s web site (www.midbuckscricket.org.uk) ensuring that results are received by Sunday 12 noon. Where the internet is not used the home team of each league match must inform the Fixture Secretary of the result by phone or personal delivery of the signed match card between 9:00am and noon on the Sunday following a league match or within 3 days of a knockout match. Any club failing to make report in accordance with this rule will be fined the sum of £5.00 on the first occasion and forfeit all points earned for all subsequent occasions.

20. YOUNG CRICKETERS

The league fully supports the ECB directives relating to young cricketers. Club captains are responsible for ensuring that the following are complied with.

(a) All players under 18 must wear a helmet when batting, fielding close to the wicket or wicket keeping when standing up to the wicket.

(b) Young fast bowlers must not be over-bowled. The following guidelines should be observed –

Up to Age 13 – maximum 4 overs per spell, 2 spells per match;
Under 14 and Under 15 – maximum 5 overs per spell, 2 spells per match;
Under 16 and Under 17 –6 overs per spell, 3 spells per match;
Under 19 –7 overs per spell, 3 spells per match.