The league shall be called ‘The Central Essex Sunday Cricket League’.
The objects of the League are to promote the best interests of cricket in the area in which member clubs are situated and to foster and develop amateur talent in the game, with particular emphasis on encouragement of young players.
Management Committee.
4.1 The League shall consist of such Clubs as the League shall approve. New Clubs may be admitted to the League at the discretion of the Management Committee and shall be placed in such Division of the League as the Management Committee thinks fit.
4.2 The League shall operate such number of Divisions as the Management Committee shall decide. The constitution of these Divisions shall be decided in accordance with the League’s Match Rules & Playing Conditions or otherwise as the Management Committee shall decide.
4.3 The League and its Member Clubs shall operate the following; Membership shall be open to all irrespective of age, gender, disability, race, ethnic origin, colour, social status and sexual orientation.
4.4 The top divisions will contain 5 teams, who will play each other home and away. In the bottom division, the number of teams may be increased up to 9 teams in order to accommodate new teams. In these circumstances, the Fixture & Results Secretary shall conduct a ‘random draw’ to decide which teams will have to play each other twice, in order that everyone plays 8 games per season.
Any Club wishing to apply for membership of the League shall do so in writing to the Secretary of the League (the Secretary) no later than the 31st day of August in the year preceding the season in which they wish to join. All matters concerning application to membership of the League shall be at the absolute discretion of the Management Committee.
Any club that is either a current member of the T Rippon Mid-Essex Cricket League, or located within 12 miles of
A member club wishing to withdraw any team from the League must notify the Secretary no later than the 30th day of September in the year preceding the season in which such withdrawal is to take effect. All financial obligations of the Club to the League must have been discharged by that date. Failure to give such notice by the due date will incur payment of fees in full for the following season.
The League through its Management Committee shall have power to expel a member Club when in the opinion of the Management Committee it would not be in the interests of the League for it to remain a member. A Club shall not be expelled unless it is given 14 days written notice to attend a meeting of the Disciplinary Panel (see below) together with written notice of the reasons for such expulsion. The Club shall be given an opportunity to appear before the said Panel to answer complaints against it and shall not be expelled unless at least two thirds of the members of the said Panel then present vote in favour of its expulsion and the decision of the said Panel is ratified by a two thirds majority of the Management Committee.
Any member club transferring, withdrawing, resigning or being expelled from the League shall forfeit any rights to participate in the assets of the League.
The Annual Subscription of the League shall be determined at the Annual General Meeting (A.G.M.) of the League (see below) upon the recommendations of its Honorary Treasurer. All subscriptions shall be paid to the Honorary Treasurer no later than the 30th day of June in every year. Any Club whose subscription shall not be paid by the 15th day of July in every year shall be liable to a financial penalty at the discretion of the Management Committee and any Club whose subscription shall not have been paid by the last day of any season shall face expulsion from the League as provided for by Rule 8.
i. The Bank of the League shall be such bank as shall be chosen from time to time by the Management Committee.
ii. All cheques drawn on the League’s Bank Account shall be signed by any two of the Signatories who shall be the President, Secretary and Treasurer of the League for the time being.
iii. The financial year of the League shall end on the 31st day of December in each year after which the accounts will be audited by an Honorary Auditor who shall be elected at each A.G.M.
iv. Where fines have been imposed by the Management Committee they should be paid within 21 days of notification otherwise such fines will be doubled.
v. All money payable to the League shall be received by the Honorary Treasurer and deposited in the League’s Bank Account or otherwise as agreed by the Management Committee from time to time. Any monies not required for immediate use may be invested as the Management Committee in its discretion thinks fit.
vi. The income and property of the League shall be applied only in furtherance of the objects of the League and no part thereof shall be paid by way of bonus dividend or profit to any member clubs of the League save as specifically provided for hereby or upon dissolution of the League.
The Annual General Meeting of the League shall be held in the month of November, to which each Club may send two delegates. No club shall have more than one vote which shall be by use of coloured voting cards. Officials and members of the Management Committee may also vote. Any Club failing to send at least one Delegate to an AGM shall be deducted 3 points at the start of the following season subject to the discretion of the Management Committee. Clubs shall receive 21 days notice of AGMs. The Quorum for an AGM shall be 2/3 of the number of Clubs constituting the League from time to time. Voting shall be by way of simple majority.
An S.G.M. may be called at any time by the Management Committee and shall be called within 28 days of receipt by the Secretary of a requisition in writing signed by the Secretaries or Chairmen of at least 8 member clubs stating the purposes for which the meeting is required and the resolutions proposed. The Quorum for an S.G.M. shall be 2/3 of the number of clubs constituting the League from time to time. Voting shall be by way of simple majority.
Any amendments to the Rules and Constitution of the League shall require a simple majority of those voting. Amendments to the Rules shall only be made at Annual General Meetings. Proposals for amendments to the rules shall be received by the League Secretary no later than 7 days prior to the A.G.M.
a. Clubs shall be limited to one overseas player registered with the Central Essex Sunday League who must not have played first class cricket in the previous five calendar years and must be registered with the League Secretary before the first day of the season. NOTE - An overseas player is defined as a player who is not eligible to play for
b. No players shall be allowed to play in any division of the League for more than one club in the League matches in one season, unless transferred by the sanction of the Management Committee (see Rule 17).
c. Any club playing ineligible players will (at the absolute discretion of the Management Committee) lose any points gained from any games in which such players take part and will in addition lose 2 points from each such game.
ii) Any breach of this rule may result in relegation to a lower division of the League and may result in expulsion from the League.
A player will be considered to be registered with a club, once they have represented a club in a league encounter on one occasion.
i) A player may claim a transfer from the club he is registered with to another club if he is omitted from the team on 2 consecutive league matches or by giving satisfactory reasons to the Management Committee. ii) This rule shall be left to the discretion of the Management Committee, but no player may be transferred after the 1st August without the approval of either the Management Committee or the League Secretary. iii) Before a player can apply for a transfer he must have paid his subscription for the current season to the club he is seeking to leave. iv) No transfer shall be necessary and the earlier provisions of this Rule shall not apply if a player has not played in the League during the season in question.
a. Clubs are not allowed to pay the subscriptions, honorarium or travelling expenses - MONETARY OR IN KIND - for any player, and, no League player may receive remuneration for playing from ANY SOURCE WHATSOEVER.
b. It is the absolute responsibility of the Club Chairmen to make all necessary enquiries and investigations as to eligibility of overseas players (see Rule 15 a above) and as to unqualified compliance with Rule 18 a above. Failure to provide such confirmation as required above or any other breach of this Rule shall be penalised at the discretion of the Disciplinary Panel. ANY breach of this rule may result in relegation to a lower division of the League and may result in expulsion from the League. Alleged breaches of this Rule will be dealt with in accordance with League’s Disciplinary Procedures.
c. On receipt of a complaint under Rule 18 and at the request of the League treasurer any club must make available for his inspection the books of account, cheque books, cheque book stubs, bank statements and Emails.
d. All correspondence relating to the engagement of a player must be retained by clubs for at least 12 months.
Each club shall only be permitted to enter one team to the league.
All matches are to be played in accordance with the league’s Match Rules Policy (see separate document)
a. A trophy will be presented to the Champions of each division of the League.
b. Trophies shall be held until the 31st August of the following season, by which date they shall be returned to the League Secretary.
i. Questions of eligibility, qualification of players or interpretation of the Rules shall be referred to the Disciplinary Panel (through the secretary) who shall consider whether a prima facie case exists in accordance with the League Disciplinary Procedural Code, or whether they should take no action except to record the matter, or in the case of a player, official or supporter to refer the matter to the Club concerned. Any interested party may report matters of eligibility, qualification or interpretation of the Rules, which shall include disputes as to discretionary penalties imposed under these rules to the Management Committee or to the Disciplinary Panel, or the Management Committee may institute proceedings at its own behest. All questions and disputes relating to eligibility, qualification of players and interpretation of the Rules shall be submitted to the Secretary within 7 days of the incident giving rise to such questions or disputes but shall not require a fee.
ii. Any dispute having reference to the Laws of Cricket shall be referred by the Management Committee (through the Secretary) to the E.C.B. for settlement. All non-administrative matters which may result in a fine or a deduction of points shall be referred to the Disciplinary Panel, in particular breaches of Paragraph 1 of the ECB Code of Conduct and Spirit of Cricket. Matters dealt with by way of fixed penalties within these rules are administrative matters and are final. Where these rules provide for fine or points deduction to be handed out at the discretion of the Management Committee, a right to protest exists, in which case the Management Committee must then refer the matter to the Disciplinary Panel under the League’s Displinary Procedural Code.
All disciplinary procedures are to be dealt with in accordance with the League’s Disciplinary Procedural Code.
All clubs must have a first aid kit in its pavilion.
Neutral umpires will not be appointed by the league.
a. i) In the absence of neutral umpires, each club has the option to supply ONE ‘non-playing umpire’. Any appointment of ‘non-playing umpires’ must be communicated to the opposition captain BEFORE the toss.
ii)In the absence of a non-playing umpire(s), the batting-side will supply umpire(s) for their innings as appropriate.
b. If any umpire is complained of twice for giving unfair decisions and the Disciplinary Panel sustains such complaints the offending umpire shall be suspended for the rest of the season.
c. If an umpire decides to report a player or team to the Management Committee he/she must inform the captain of the offending team before leaving the ground.
It is the responsibility of both captains to ensure the accuracy of score-keeping.
a. The home side is responsible for supplying a suitable tea.
b. If a club fails to provide a tea, it will be considered a disciplinary matter, and will be fined a minimum of £35, and face a minimum 1 point deduction.
c. If a club is reported for supplying a sub-standard tea on 3 or more occasions, the club may be fined or deducted points at the discretion of the Disciplinary Committee.
i. A resolution to dissolve the League shall only be proposed at an S.G.M. and shall only be carried by a majority of at least two thirds of the member CLUBS.
ii. The dissolution shall take effect from the date of the resolution and the members of the Management Committee shall be responsible for the winding up of the assets and liabilities of the League.
iii. Any property remaining after the discharge of the debts and liabilities of the League shall be given to a charity or charities nominated by the last Management Committee.
The Management Committee shall have power to deal with any matter not dealt with in these Rules in accordance with the Rules, Directives, Guidance and Regulations of the Essex Cricket Board, the
For the avoidance of doubt, if there is at any time a conflict between the Rules & Constitution in the League Handbook as published annually and the form in which the Rules and Constitution appear on the League’s website, the former should prevail.
The League adopts the ECB’s Safe Hands Policy-Crickets Policy for Protecting Children, and will appoint a Child Welfare Officer who will be an “ex officio” member of the Management Committee and will have full voting rights. The Officer will be responsible for:-
a. Maintaining a Register of Club Child Welfare Officers.
b. All administrative duties relating to Child Welfare.
c. Filling the role of Child Welfare Officer for any league activities involving juniors.
All clubs must comply with the E.C.B. Child Protection Policy requirements relating to junior players. Each Club is required to appoint an approved Child Welfare Officer who will ensure the ECB’s requirements are met within the club. Clubs must advise the League Child Welfare Officer of the details of their Child Welfare Officer no later than the 1st day of March each year.
All players, officials, supporters and Club members consent and allow the Management Committee to process such personal data as the League possesses and considers necessary for the purposes of disciplinary matters and other general administration of the League. This shall include the passing of such information on to such third parties, as the Management Committee considers necessary for the purposes stated in this Rule. The Management Committee undertakes not to sell or otherwise provide personal data to any third party for commercial gain or for purposes unconnected with the League.