There follows material given to members in advance of the 2018 AGM and, in addition, the Minutes
of the 2018 AGM.
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Norfolk Seniors Cricket Club Annual General Meeting Agenda
Dereham Golf Club, Quebec Road, Dereham, NR19 2DS
Monday 26 November 2018 commencing at 7.30 pm
1. Chairman’s welcome and introductions
2. Apologies
3. Minutes of last AGM
4. Matters Arising
5. Correspondence
6. Reports for year
6.1 Chairman
6.2 Treasurer
6.3 Secretary
6.4 Fixture Secretaries
6.5 Media Secretary
7. Captains’ Reports
A. Gregory for Over 50s
A. King for Over 60s 1st XI
C. Palmer for Over 60s 2nd XI
G. Saunders for Over 70s
8. Amendments to the Constitution recommended by the Executive Committee
Proposed by Mike Smith and seconded by Barry Batteley that the Norfolk County Seniors Cricket Club Constitution be changed as follows:
Appendix D: Code of Conduct
Rules 3 and 4
9. Election of Officers
President: vote required as there are two nominations: N. Cobb & P. Thomas
Chairman: vote required as there are two nominations: A. Gregory & I. Parkin
Vice-Chaiman G. Saunders
Treasurer M. Banham
Secretary J. Perry
Fixture Secretary: vote required as there are two nominations: M. Pearse & C. Yallop
Media Secretary A. Broughton
10. Presentation of Captains for 2018
Over 50s A. Gregory
Over 60s 1st XI A. King
Over 60s 2nd XI C. Palmer
Over 70s G. Saunders
11. Update on proposals to be put to the National 60+ County Cricket Championship Annual General Meeting, 28 November 2018
12. Other Business (To deal with any special matter which the Executive Committee desire to bring before the members & to receive suggestions from the members for consideration by the Executive Committee, but shall not be the subject of discussion at the Annual General Meeting.)
12.1 New leisure polo shirts (C. Palmer)
12.2 Proposed 100 Club draw (G. Saunders)
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Minutes of the 2018 Norfolk Seniors Cricket Club Annual General Meeting
held at Dereham Golf Club
on Monday 26 November 2018
The meeting started at 19:30.
Item 1: The Chairman welcomed the 41 members and one guest who were present.
Item 2: Apologies were received from: Chris Baines, Clive Bennett, Bryn Clarke, Paul Clayden, Patrick Dewing, Derek Dewson, Maurice Dye, David Gale, Graham Harrop, Andy King, David LeMoir, Richard Norman and John Ruddick.
Item 3: Proposed by Andy Broughton and seconded by Mike Barnham that the minutes of the 2017 AGM be accepted as a true record.
Item 4: The were no matters arising except those covered later in the agenda.
Item 5: There was no correspondence except that covered later in the agenda
Item 6:
6.1 Chairman’s report
The Chairman, Mick Smith, began by saying that this had been a peculiar and demanding year, especially for the Committee. He noted he had taken over in February when John Lund, the previous Chairman, resigned, and that Richard Taylor, the President, had resigned two weeks later. He said that the Overstrand incident had caused a lot of discussion and work for the Committee, and that difficult decisions had had to be made. Just when the Committee has agreed a way forward to draw a line under the incident, three of the Committee members had received a letter from solicitors acting for Martin Pearse, claiming damages for defamation of character. The Chairman claimed that the contents of the letter were libellous. Whilst all those affected had refuted the charges, to date the threats of legal action had not been withdrawn. The Chairman felt that none of this has done our Club any favours, but that we must move forward, and he mentioned two proposed amendments to the Constitution that would be voted on later. We will also, he said, have to agree our stance on some of the National O60s AGM proposals.
Mick Smith finished by reminding members that he was standing down from the Committee, but wished to record sincere thanks to Barry Batteley for standing in as President during this difficult period. Also a sincere thank you to the last Secretary, Nobby Cobb, who stepped down for health reasons in June after five years of keeping the Club on the straight and narrow. Whoever was voted in to the new Committee, Mick wished them all the best for the coming year.
6.2 Treasurer’s report
Mike Banham reported that the finances of the Club were healthy and presented the accounts with notes, as reproduced below.
.............start of accounts.............
Norfolk Seniors Accounts 2018 Season
2017 2018 Comments
Income Expenditure Income Expenditure
Start-up balance 2327.37 1410.99
Matches 6548.00 6352.15 8731.29 8187.70 see Note 1/2
Match Balls 504.00 636.00
Competition Entry 270.00 320.00
Nets/Trials 44.00 55.00
O70 Sponsorship 260.00 260.00
Subs @ £20 since 2017 1280.00 1420.00 see Note 3
Defibrillator 1198.00
Insurance 296.60 321.83
Secretarial expenses/Room hire 20.00 88.63 97.25
Norfolk Cricket Board sub 35.00 35.00
Donation 50.00 see Note 4
Caps 50.00 114.00 140.00 275.00 see Note 5
Golf Day 937.05 551.45
Sweaters 121.00 176.32
Cash in Bank 1410.99 2164.78
Note 1 – Superb accounts managed by Captains give a full reflection of team income & expenditure – Most XI’s were in profit but with increased Ground & Umpire/Scorer charges this is still up overall.
Note 2 – The poor geographical basis of leagues has caused teams increased travel costs, which they have mitigated by holding raffles – The cost of minibus travel in the 2018 (bus/driver/fuel) is nearly £1200 alone
Note 3 – Collection of Subs has been excellent & 22 are now paid by Bank Transfer. More important that more bank transfers, now that my local Barclays has closed, making cheques/cash more difficult to bank.
Note 4 – To Leeds Teaching Charitable Trust in memory of Tom Lidbetter who had represented Norfolk Seniors since its inception.
Note 5 – We need to continue to purchase a further batch of 100/50/County caps for 2019 season. This year we issued County caps to 14 new players
Stock held by the club – 5 sweaters worth £104, 10 caps worth £110, 5 balls worth £75
Recommendations for 2019
· Match fees will be set to cover each match individually with minimum match fee of £11 & maximum again no more than £15(especially where minibus utilised)
· Annual Sub to stay at £20 for 2019.
· We have sufficient funds around £2100 to cover Balls/Insurance/Competition entries/NCB sub (approx. £1330) before the start of the 2019 season, £200 for new Polo shirts & £300 to restock caps. This is before any Subscriptions are paid.
............end of accounts..............
Mike’s recommendation that annual subscriptions for full playing members should stay at £20 and that match fees should remain the same was passed by acclamation. It was proposed by John Lund and seconded by Andy Broughton that the Treasurer’s report and the accounts be accepted.
6.3 Secretaries’ reports
The main issue for 2018 was getting everyone sorted out under the new data protection rules and the registrations for 2018. People still leave things until the last moment which causes more work for the Secretary who has to chase them up. Please would all players complete the registration process on receipt for 2019! The Secretary attended the now National Championship AGM in November 2017 and later expressed Norfolk's concern regarding the groupings that placed the Over 60s 2nd XI in a group that required excessive travel. There was no satisfactory reply from the league; however, it is something that has been brought up again and should be addressed for the coming season. A lot of time and effort was used in sorting out the fallout from the 'Overstrand' incident which resulted in more committee meetings than was usual. With my wife having an operation that incapacitated her for 4 months (March to June) and my diagnosis of cancer (April) and subsequent surgery throughout the summer, I found I no longer had the time to give my best efforts to the post of Secretary with the increased workload and therefore resigned the post in late June.
Nobby Cobb B.E.M.
I took over as acting Secretary on 24 June and my keyboard has been glowing red hot ever since. My main impression has been one of admiration for the efficient way in which Nobby has kept the records over the last five years. May I be one of the first to thank him for his efforts on behalf of the Club, since taking over in 2013.
Joe Perry
6.4 Fixture secretaries reports
There was nothing of import to relate. Richard Taylor expressed the thanks of the meeting to Carl Yallop and to Andy Gregory for organizing friendly matches, especially those during September.
6.5 Media secretary’s report Andy Broughton reported that the good relationship with the press reported in the 2017 minutes had continued and that every report submitted had been published.
There followed discussion of all the reports under item 6. This long, and at times acrimonious discussion centred on the disciplinary process mentioned in the Chairman’s report. Some members of the Committee expressed frustration that the process had not been allowed to reach finality. Some members of the Club had written a letter expressing the contrary view that the continuing nature of the process amounted to victimization and was unfair. There was a consensus view that many people from both these groups expressed and was reflected strongly by interjections from all members who expressed an opinion: (i) a line needed to be drawn under the affair; (ii) the Club and its members needed to move on with a clean slate and to focus on playing cricket not politics; and (iii) any past misdemeanours should be regarded as just that – dead and buried.
Item 7
Captains’ reports for the four teams were as follows:
Over 50s
On the face of it, another disappointing season as we lost all of the seven fixtures in the ECB 50+ County Championship. In fact in five of those games we were very competitive, though we struggled against Leicester and Suffolk who are two of the best o50s sides in the country. Steve Goldsmith played two games, hit a century in one and two in the other but has now retired from all cricket. We have a good group of players who are all capable of contributing at this level but unlike the stronger counties we have no real star performer. Availability has been good and virtually every game we have put out a team of people in their 50s. The team spirit has been very good and the fielding excellent. We did well in the o50s friendly games and we were able to introduce some players in their late 40s who were very interested in playing and will make good players for the 50s in a couple of years time.
Andy Gregory
Over 60s 1st XI
A predictably wet start to the season saw the first game postponed before the season got under way with back to back defeats against Herts and Suffolk respectively. With last year's winners Essex also in our group, the prospect of finishing in the top three in order to qualify for the knock outs seemed a long way off. But the team regrouped and chased down over 200 against Cambs/Hunts. A seemingly comfortable victory was on the cards at Southill Park against Bedfordshire with the home side 47 for 4 after 26 overs before rain intervened and caused the match to be postponed. Back to earth with a bump as we were well short in the first match against Essex at North Runcton - Played 4 Won 1 lost 3, needing to probably win 4 of the last six games to qualify. But back to Southill Park we went and triumphed by 10 wickets with 20 overs to spare. Next Essex at Loughton and a frustrating defeat in a game where having kept them to 220, we wanted 70 in the last 13 overs with 9 wickets in hand, lost 2 wickets in an over and collapsed to lose by 47 runs. With a heavy defeat to Herts at Old Buckenham it was - Played 7 won 2 lost 5- simple- we had to win our last three games.
And we did!!
We chased down 185 against Suffolk, thanks to a strong all round performance. We restricted Cambs/Hunts to 131 to win with 5 overs to spare. Then bowled Beds out for 88 to win by 7 wickets.
Deservedly we were in the playoffs as we were definitely the next strongest team in the group. Lancashire must have known their name was going to be on the trophy as any side that draws us in the last 16 usually goes on to be the overall winners. So it proved at Heywood where they got far too many for us batting first. The season ended with a 2 - legged plate final against Essex, where rain prevented us winning the first game and we ended up 40 short in the second.
Our batting was strong with Peter Coote averaging 51, Andy King 44, Clive Bennett 36, Robin Yates 34 and John Lund 33. Others including Clive Adams, Randolph Lofthouse and Trevor Shales made valuable contributions and only in the game against Lancashire were we bowled out cheaply. Our bowlers became more effective the longer the season went on taking 29 wickets in the last 3 league games. Trevor Shales with 17, Maurice Dye 13 and Andy King 12 led the way and were well supported by Clive Bennett, Phil Banham, John Spaxman , Ritchie Davies and Mike Banham.
Overall a satisfactory season- Played 10 , Won 5 Lost 5. I felt by the end we were getting nearer to sides like Essex but still needing to strengthen in some areas which may be helped by new players coming into the team next year. Thank you to all the players for their efforts this year, availability was generally very good and that really helps. Also thanks to OB for hosting most of our home games this year including those from the club who helped laying out teas running the bar etc and in particular Mike Banham for his work on the ground. My thanks also to North Runcton who hosted the game against Essex.
May you all winter well and be fit and ready for another go next season.
Yours in cricket
Andy King
Over 60s 2nd XI
The Norfolk ‘Rebels’: Played 12 Won 6 Lost 5 Tied 1
After being asked to open the new water gardens at Oakham CC, the Rebels had a chat and Chris set a target of qualifying for the knock out stages this season. Cricket started with Warwickshire at Mundford. Winning the toss we batted first, Ropes carried on from last season with 47 and Wynnie matched him, but some appalling umpiring decisions from the away “ice cream seller” saw wickets fall at regular intervals and only Dave LeMoir with 21 not out off 25 balls saw us to a respectable score of 201. On a good pitch the visitors made good progress putting on 91 before away trigger struck again and Wynnie slowed the run rate with 3 quick wickets. Gradually we took control and when Niel started the last over Warks needed 8 to win, he decided to make it interesting bowling a huge wide with his 5th ball which “Snatch” Atkinson did well to take down the leg side and we won by 2 runs. Yorkshire away followed and our nemesis Alan Hampshire and my mate Brian Phillips helped the hosts to 216 – 3. In reply wickets fell regularly against some excellent bowling and we ended up batting for bonus points at 150 – 5. In the Yorkshire game I suffered a twisted knee and decided to sit out the next fixture at home to Cheshire and Dave LeMoir took the helm. Cheshire made 228 – 2 but an excellent 3rd wkt stand of 116 in 17 overs, by Tony Crockert (89) & Bryn Clarke (62) kept us in the game and 80 were needed off the last 10 overs. When Tony was out Robin Konieczny made 17 from 10 balls and saw us home with 8 balls to spare. Chris was still not fit for the next game at Hockwold v Lancashire and the visitors posted 163 – 5. We were in the box seat at 144 – 5 but contrived to loose the last 5 wkts for 15 runs against some mediocre bowling. Talk about defeat from the jaws of victory, Chris was livid. A second visit to Oakham water gardens followed and Chris, still not fully fit, was determined to play and on a hot afternoon a good display in the field held the hosts to 237 – 6. Ropes & JR sat about the reply with gusto scoring freely but both fell in quick succession to leave us 69 – 2. Wynnie (62) & Bryn (60 not out) added 107 and we won by 5 wkts with 8 balls to spare. The next week was the start of the reverse fixtures with Leics visiting Diss and again batted first. Richard Day made his debut behind the stumps, with Snatch joining the outfielders. A good steady display of bowling backed up with some fine fielding restricted Leics to 148 – 7 in 45 overs. Niel Wynn taking 4 – 23 in his 9 over spell helped by a fantastic catch by Snatch at slip when on waving the ball past him it stuck in his hand to everyone's astonishment. Ropes (70) & Keith Daykin (46 not out) made short work of the reply putting on 131 in 27 overs before Ropes was run out by a direct hit. Wynnie crashed 13 from 11 balls to leave us winners by 9 wkts with 15 overs to spare. Next Warwickshire at Moseley on a blistering hot day, loosing the toss we were asked to field. We worked hard in the heat but home skipper Rogers was watchful and patient and punished the wayward ball scoring 102 from 100 balls. We stuck to our task in the heat and Warks were 195 – 6 with 7 overs to go. They finally managed 241 when the overs ran out. On an excellent pitch Ropes made hay and with Wynnie added 108 for the 3rd wkt and we needed 95 from 20 overs. Easy you may think but with the pitch being aligned East to West, Warks put on their pie chuckers who through the ball up into the sun and until it bounced you couldn't see it at all. Ropes showed admirable stamina by being on the field for the whole game in the heat and scored 117 not out from 128 balls and assisted by the lower order we got home by 4 wkts with 2 overs to spare. Yorkshire at Runcton we set 230 with Geoff (74) & Tony Crockert (81) putting on 132 for the 2nd wkt. Again Hampshire and Phillips did the damage with a 2nd wkt stand of 167 and we lost by 8 wkts. Against Cheshire we had the hosts 136 – 5 with 15 overs to go and let them off the hook as 105 runs came from the next 15 overs. Batsmen tried hard but tight bowling did for us and we only managed 192 – 6 wkts at stumps with Tony 43. Needing one point to be sure of a play off spot we batted first v. Lancashire and posted 191 - 9 Dave LeMoir (39) and “H” (35 not out) adding 66 for the 7th wkt. With 12 overs to bowl and Lancs needing 52 the heavens opened and no further play was possible. Calculators came out and both sides were scoring at 4.22, match tied. Two weeks to go to play off match and we found our opponents would be Oxfordshire away, more travelling. Some excellent catching reduced the hosts to 97 for 5 at the half way point but again we couldn't push home our advantage and Oxford posted 189. Oxford won by bowling straight with all but two of the rebels wkts being bowled or LBW as we were bowled out for 131. A 35 over a side friendly against Two Counties was played with Ropes scoring 147 not out from 111 balls, as we posted 221 and won by 101 runs.
Overall the team made the play offs, as they were challenged to, with Geoff Roper 458 runs in 10 innings followed by Tony Crockert 317 in 6, Niel Wynn 287 in 11, Bryn Clarke 177 in 8. Leading wicket takers were Niel 12, Dave LeMoir 7, and “H” and Carl Nicholls 6.
All the new members made good contributions. I hope Bryn Clarke, Carl Nicholls, Keith Daykin & Richard Day want to continue playing in 2019. I intend to stand as skipper for 2019 as long as my knees hold up. Winter well and let’s have another go at it in 2019.
Chris Palmer
Over 70s
Mr Chairman, The Committee, My Fellow Members, this is my frank & honest report as I personally see it. It began with me knowing that I was still having to deal with the Pearse & Gale case in the background, not only that this meant a loss of two senior players from the squad. For two to three months I was having to ease my way along with Andy Broughton, my vice captain, hearing & listening to the squad members as matches came & went. At one stage it was not enjoyable for me, but I promised myself that I would set a standard that would enable us all to enjoy playing our cricket together. So it proved to be with the final two months bringing us all together playing with a smile on our faces, beating our old enemy In the league for the first time for a while. I thank all the players, as they knuckled down & got on with the games as they came along. A big thanks to Nigel Crickmore & his team of umpires who I know enjoyed themselves on a Thursday, home or away; they did us proud. Our combined team of Norfolk/Suffolk v Australians was played in a competitive spirit and although we lost the cricket game, we provided a great standard of hospitality and comradeship both on & off the field. Lindsey, the Aussie team manager is very much looking forward to returning to the North Norfolk area to play again. As I mentioned earlier we managed a league win on Suffolk soil & the icing was put on the cake when we chalked up a second win in the 20/20 competition, coming third on a day that enabled us all to achieve raising monies for the Air Ambulance. Talking of the Air Ambulance, when playing Suffolk at Southwold it was used for a Suffolk player Gerry Hampton who I am glad to say is fit again. Just a mention, although this game was abandoned, the highlight of Norfolk’s innings was 139 runs by Richard Taylor. Looking forward, we O70s have our dinner at the Cafe Verde on Friday 7th December. The 2019 season will soon be here, whether as your captain, or just a player, I hope that we can carry on moving forward. For the sake of cricket let's enjoy this great game of ours. We need to be proactive as we have many bridges to repair. We cannot become the laughing stock club of Seniors cricket or our own NCB. It's up to you guys to make the change - and only time will tell.
Geoff Saunders
From the floor, Richard Taylor said “Bravo, Geoff Saunders”, and complimented Geoff for his steadying of the ship in a friendly and happy atmosphere after the difficult pre-season situation.
Item 8: The following amendment to the Constitution, proposed by Mike Smith and seconded by Barry Batteley, was passed unanimously:
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Replace
rule 19) Discipline
The club will deal with all disciplinary matters in accordance with (IAW) the
guidelines laid down in the ECB Code of Conduct, incorporating the Spirit of Cricket. (See Appendix A)
by
rule 19) Discipline
The Club will consider all disciplinary matters in accordance with the
Club’s Code of Conduct (Appendix D) which incorporates the Spirit of Cricket. All members are required to sign that they will conform to the Code of Conduct. Disciplinary processes are described in Appendix A.
and add
Appendix D to the Constitution of the Norfolk County Seniors Cricket Club
Code of Conduct
1. Norfolk Seniors are committed to maintaining the highest standards of behaviour and conduct. This Code of Conduct incorporates the ‘Spirit of Cricket’ adopted by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and applies to all matches played under the auspices of Norfolk Seniors.
2. The Captains are responsible at all times for ensuring that play is conducted within this Code of Conduct, the ‘Spirit of Cricket’ and the Laws of the game. The ‘Spirit of Cricket’ involves respect for your opponents, your own Captain and team, the Umpires, scorers, spectators, other members of Norfolk Seniors and the traditional values of the game.
3. Players are responsible for supporting their Captain in all matters of the ‘Spirit of Cricket’. Players are expected to give due support for their Captain at all times, both on and off the pitch.
4. Players and team officials must at all times accept the Umpire’s decision. Players must not show dissent at the Umpire’s decision or react in a provocative or disapproving manner towards an Umpire, player, team official, scorer or spectator.
5. Players and team officials shall not intimidate, assault or attempt to intimidate or assault an Umpire, scorer, another player or a spectator.
6. Players and team officials shall not use crude and/or abusive language (known as ‘sledging’) nor make offensive gestures or hand signals or deliberately distract an opponent.
7. Players and team officials shall not use language or gesture that offends, insults, humiliates, intimidates, threatens, disparages or vilifies another person on the basis of the race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, colour, ethnicity or disability of any player, Umpire, scorer, official, member or supporter. Norfolk Seniors embrace, promote and implement the principles of Sports Equity, Equal Opportunity, Spirit of Cricket and Inclusion/ Diversity as part of their Consitution.
8. Players and team officials shall not use or in any way be concerned in the use or distribution of illegal drugs.
9. Members should not make derogatory, disrespectful or defamatory comments on social media and should exercise extreme care with who is included in email address lists, especially when forwarding emails.
10. All alleged misconduct should be reported as soon as possible to the Captain and Hon. Secretary. Norfolk Seniors abide by ECB disciplinary process guidelines. Cases of alleged misconduct will be dealt with by an Internal Club Enquiry in the first instance, reporting to Norfolk Seniors Executive Committee and the Norfolk Cricket Board/ ECB, as specified in Appendix A of the Constitution.
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The other proposed amendment to the Constitution covering rules 3 and 4 was introduced by the acting Secretary, but received very little backing, with only two votes in favour. The reason was that none of Members from the floor supported the proposal that the Executive Committee should be allowed to ratify the registration of existing members. A helpful alternative proposal, restricting ratification to new members only, was enunciated by Doug Young, seconded by Nobby Cobb, and passed unanimously. The accepted amendment follows:
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Replace
rule 3) Membership
The Club shall consist of such members as have paid an annual subscription as provided for in Rule 4, together with any Honorary Life Members that may be proposed by the Executive Committee, & elected by Members at any General Meeting.
by
rule 3) Membership
(a) There are two categories of membership: Playing Members (see rule 4(c)) and Social Members.
(b) Social Members may not be Officers or Captains or vote at any Meeting of the Club.
(c) Unless specified, all subsequent references to ‘members’ in this Constitution refer to Playing Members.
(d) In any given year, the Club shall consist of such Playing Members and Social Members who have registered, agreed to abide by principles outlined in Rule 2b and specified in Appendix D, and have paid an annual subscription as provided for in Rule 4, together with any Honorary Life Members that may be proposed by the Executive Committee and elected by Members at any General Meeting. In the case of new members, their registration shall be ratified by the Executive Committee.
and replace
rule 4) Annual Subscription
The annual subscription shall be payable by 1st May each year or after having played two matches in that season, the rate of subscription to be decided by the Executive Committee, subject to ratification at the Annual General Meeting which precedes the season for which the proposed subscription rates apply. Subscription lasts from payment date until 30th April.) No member shall enjoy the benefits or privileges of the Club until a valid subscription has been received by the Club.
by
rule 4) Annual Subscription
(a) Rates of subscription for Social Members and Playing Members shall be decided by the Executive Committee, subject to ratification at the Annual General Meeting which precedes the year for which the proposed subscription rates apply. Subscription lasts from payment date until 30th April.
(b) The annual subscription for existing Members shall be payable by 1st May each year. On or before 1st May, existing Members may announce to the Executive Committee their intention to change the category of their membership, subject to rule 4(c).
(c) After having played two games for the Club in any one season, an individual, whether a Member or non-member of the Club and whatever the category of their existing membership, shall be recognised as a Playing Member, and shall immediately pay any excess subscription due.
(d) No Member shall enjoy the benefits or privileges of the Club until a valid subscription has been received by the Club.
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Immediately following this second unanimous vote, Martin Pearse said “I hereby withdraw my writs”, and confirmed that he had publicly declared an end to his legal action against Nobby Cobb, David Gale, Mike Smith and Carl Yallop, the four Club members concerned.
Joe Perry, the Acting Secretary then said “Thank you Martin, that is a very generous resolution to this issue, I hope.”
Item 9: After a secret ballot, the votes cast for the offices of President, Chairman and Fixture Secretary were as follows:
President: Peter Thomas 21, Nobby Cobb 19. Peter Thomas was declared elected.
Chairman: Andy Gregory 29, Ian Parkin 11. Andy Gregory was declared elected.
Fixture Secretary: Carl Yallop 26, Martin Pearse 14. Carl Yallop was declared elected.
One ballot paper was received after the deadline to vote and was therefore declared invalid.
The following other offices were uncontested and the nominees were elected en-bloc: Vice-Chairman, Geoff Saunders; Treasurer, Mike Banham; Secretary, Joe Perry; Media Secretary, Andy Broughton.
Item 10: The Executive Committee presented Members with their choice for Captains for 2019, all of whom continue unchanged from 2018: Over 50s, Andy Gregory; Over 60s 1st XI, Andy King; Over 60s 2nd XI (Norfolk Rebels), Chris Palmer; Over 70s, Geoff Saunders.
Item 11: There was considerable discussion concerning the forthcoming EGM and AGM of the National 60+ County Cricket Championship to be held on 28 November 2018. Martin Pearse reported that fully twelve counties were dissatisfied with the National Committee and there was a danger that they might split away to form their own competition. The meeting agreed to mandate Mike Banham and Joe Perry (Norfolk representative) to attend, listen and decide how to vote in Norfolk’s best interest. Regarding the Championship Over 60s 1st and 2nd teams, the meeting mandated the representative to vote in favour of the existing rather than the proposed formats, but agreed with the proposed format for Over 70s. The meeting voted to mandate the representative to vote in favour of 1pm starts to matches, and, for Over 70s cricket, against reducing matches to 40 overs, in favour of the proposal to restrict length of time off field after suitable clarification, in favour of the proposals for points scoring, and against batsmen retiring at 50.
Item 12: Chris Palmer introduced members to the new leisure polo shirts. The cost would be between £15 and £20, depending on demand. The meeting expressed approval.
Geoff Saunders explained proposals for a 100 club draw. This could produce revenue of £2500 p.a., with payments by standing order to a separate bank account with two or three signatories. The meeting expressed enthusiasm.
The Chairman informed Members that in future,minjutes of Committee meetings would appear on the Club’s website.
There being no further business, the meeting ended at 21:59.
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Summary of Disciplinary Process following incident at Overstrand CC on Monday 7th August 2017.
The Executive Committee feel it is useful for Members to receive a summary of the disciplinary process that was alluded to at last year’s AGM, but for which details could not then be given as the process was ongoing. A summary follows.
At an Executive Committee Meeting on 11 September 2017, the Chairman, John Lund, informed the Committee that he had been made aware of an incident at Overstrand Cricket Club that involved both M. Pearse and D. Gale. He had set up a disciplinary sub-committee to investigate and report back. The sub-committee concluded that the Norfolk Cricket Board should be asked to conduct the disciplinary process.
The Norfolk Cricket Board informed M. Pearse and D. Gale that they faced the most serious (level 4) charges and invited them to personal hearings on 16th November.
On 6 November 2017, at the Norfolk Seniors AGM, the Chairman informed Members of the ongoing disciplinary enquiry.
On 22 January 2018 the Norfolk Cricket Board announced that M. Pearse and D. Gale had both been given a 10 week suspension from all cricket, starting from 28 April 2018.
The charges were:
M. Pearse: level 4(b), ‘physical assault of another player, umpire, official or spectator’; and level 4(d), ‘using language or gestures that seriously offend, insult, humiliate, intimidate, threaten, disparage or vilify another person’.
D. Gale: level 4(d), ‘seriously offend, insult, humiliate, intimidate, threaten, disparage or vilify another person on the basis of that person’s sexual orientation whilst clearly acting as Captain at this point’, and ‘making derogatory comments about a competition official and failing to control his players’.
On 31 January 2018 the Norfolk Seniors President, Richard Taylor, informed the National 60+ Chairman of the need for and progress of the disciplinary process.
At an Executive Committee Meeting (ECM) on 5 February 2018 it was agreed that Members could not be informed of the outcome yet, because both players had the right to appeal the decision to suspend. The Chairman emphasised the need for Members to be made aware of and abide by the ECB code of conduct. After discussion of what action the Club should take if the Norfolk Cricket Board upheld its decision to suspend, the Chairman left the meeting. Subsequently the Chairman resigned.
On 25 February 2018, the President resigned.
The disciplinary process was discussed at the National 60+ County Cricket Championship Management Committee of 8 February 2018 and it was decided that M. Pearse not be allowed to captain the England 70+ team in its tour to Australia (for details see http://www.60cc.co.uk/Documents&Spreadsheets/Committee%20Minutes%2008022018.docx)
At an Executive Committee Meeting on 21 March 2018, Mike Smith was appointed as Chairman, Geoff Saunders as Vice-Chairman and Barry Batteley proposed as President. The Hon. Sec. informed of his intention to stand down at the AGM. The Chairman informed that D. Gale had accepted his suspension but that M. Pearse had decided to appeal. The Hon. Sec., Nobby Cobb, was mandated to write to M. Pearse telling him that the Executive Committee was suspending him from his role as Fixture Secretary pending the outcome of his appeal and, if upheld, during his ten-week suspension. This letter was sent on 24 March 2018.
On 23 April 2018 an email was sent by the Norfolk Cricket Board to the Executive Committee and others stating that original decision to suspend M. Pearse had been confirmed following appeal. The ten week suspension was to run from 28 April to 6 July 2018. At an Executive Committee meeting that evening, there was discussion concerning whether further disciplinary action should be taken against M. Pearse by the Club and if so, of what form. The next day the Chairman, Mike Smith, wrote to M. Pearse informing him that his Life Membership had been terminated. (Note that the letter said nothing about ordinary membership and that M. Pearse therefore continues as an ordinary member, not expelled from Club.)
At an Executive Committee Meeting on 4 June 2018 The Chairman introduced two members of the Norfolk Cricket Board who would be join the committee temporarily to ensure that disciplinary matters within the Club were dealt with correctly. The Chairman asked the Club Disciplinary Officer to form a sub-committee to meet as soon as possible to adjudicate on whether the level 4 offences committed at the incident at Overstrand amounted to ‘gross misconduct’ as described in rule 2(f) of Appendix A to the Club Constitution. The sub-committee was composed of two Executive Committee members, another member of the Club who was also a Disciplinary Officer of the Norfolk Cricket League and another Disciplinary Officer of the Norfolk Cricket League who was not a member of the Club.
At a Disciplinary sub-committee meeting on 12 June 2018 the decisions were: that the actions of D. Gale were serious but did not constitute gross misconduct; and that the actions of M. Pearse did constitute gross misconduct.
At an Executive Committee Meeting on 18 June 2018 it was noted that, given a finding of gross misconduct, the Executive Committee had the power under rule 2f of Appendix A (Disciplinary Policy) of the Constitution to initiate a process to terminate the player’s membership, under a procedure laid down in rule 12 of the Constitution covering expulsion of Members. However, following extensive discussion, the President, Barry Batteley, wrote to M. Pearse on 19 June 2018, stating that he had reviewed the decision to terminate his Life membership and that the decision stood; that he would be eligible for selection at the end of his suspension, but would receive a written warning as to his future behaviour.
At some time between 19 and 22 June, M. Pearse instructed his solicitors to issue letters claiming damages for defamation of character against four members: Mike Smith, Chairman of Club, Nobby Cobb, Hon Sec of Club, Carl Yallop, Fixture Secretary of Club, and David Gale. At the time of writing, there are believed to be no plans to bring this to court in the immediate future. However, the claims remain in place and have not been withdrawn.
On 24 June, Nobby Cobb resigned on health grounds and his role was taken over by Joe Perry.
Between 22 June and 3 September the Executive Committee drafted letters concerning future behaviour to be sent to D. Gale and M. Pearse, but did not send them because of possible pending legal action arising from the solicitors’ letters issued by M. Pearse.
At an Executive Committee Meeting on 3 September 2018, the Committee agreed that, as part of the registration process for each new season, all members must sign to agree to a Code of Conduct based on the ECB Code of Conduct and Spirit of Cricket, including the necessity to show respect to one’s captain and team members. The great majority of the Committee agreed that, in this case, the making of claims against fellow team members could not be deemed as acceptable behaviour within the Spirit of Cricket. This decision was reiterated by the Committee at its meeting off 29 October 2018.
This summary was compiled by the Executive Committee in October 2018, from official records of the Club.
As a result of the routine email sent to all Members concerning the need to nominate officers for 2018-2019 at the 2018 November AGM, the Acting Hon. Sec. received two nominations with proposers and seconders for the office of Fixture Secretary, one nominating Carl Yallop and one nominating Martin Pearse. Since there is nothing in the above disciplinary process to invalidate either of the nominations, a vote will be held at the AGM.
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