This disciplinary policy has now been superceded by the new Law 42 and ECB Directives regarding player behaviour, which identifies offences. A Directive card will be issued by the ECB detailing offences and actions to be taken by umpires. Local leagues may choose to vary these offences or to disregard the law in their playing conditions.
East Riding Cricket Umpires’ and Scorers’ Association
The following policy was agreed by the Association before the beginning of the 2011 season and is endorsed by the East Yorkshire Cricket Alliance.
Policy of ERCUSA regarding physical violence on the field of play
The Association wishes to stress at the outset that the disciplinary record in the EYCA is exemplary compared with some other leagues in the county but that we need a firm and consistent policy in case an incident does occur.
The laws of cricket and the Spirit of Cricket tell us:
‘The Spirit of Cricket’: “6. VIOLENCE There is no place for any act of violence on the field of play.”
Law 1.4 “The captains are responsible at all times for ensuring that play is conducted within the spirit and traditions of the game as well as within the Laws.”
Law 3.6 “Before the toss and during the match, the umpires shall satisfy themselves that (a) the conduct of the game is strictly in accordance with the Laws.”
Therefore, in the event of an act of physical violence taking place on the field of play in a match umpired by members of ERCUSA the following action will be taken:
1. The umpires will consult and the captain(s) will be:
reminded of their responsibilities,
asked to remove the offending player(s) from the field.
The offending player (s) will not be allowed to take any further part in the match and no substitute will be allowed.
2. If the captain(s) fail to carry out this request the umpires will call time and abandon the match.
3. The incident will be reported to the EYCA, or other ruling authority responsible for the match, to be dealt with as deemed appropriate.
We, as members of this Association, sincerely believe that we will never have to invoke this policy but feel that it is appropriate for the Leagues, clubs and players to know what our policy is.
YOUR RESPONSIBILITY AS AN UMPIRE
THE EYCA has an extremely good disciplinary record, especially when compared against some other local leagues, and its Committee is extremely supportive of the umpires who officiate in its competitions. However, there are times when things go wrong and when this occurs the players / club officials should be reported to the League by the umpire (s) involved in the match. Disciplinary reports should be made to the EYCAlliance on the official form (available from Ken Featherston, Mike Free or Gordon Prescott if you do not have one) or downloadable from the YCB website.
No umpire or player should be abused at any time.
No umpire should tolerate abuse.
No player should be allowed to get away with abuse.