Carry on playing

PROFESSIONALS will continue to play in the Armstrongs Office Furniture Saddleworth and District Cricket League next season.

Friarmere’s attempt to get rid of paid men in 2009 was thrown out by a landslide 11-1 majority at the annual meeting held at Uppermill.

The West View outfit also proposed to give clubs the option of signing two overseas amateurs as opposed to one overseas amateur and a professional, but that too was defeated.

However, clubs voted in favour of handing out automatic suspensions to players if they are reported by umpires.

The offenders will be banned for the requisite numbers of games laid down in a disciplinary tariff in the league handbook.

The player has the right to appeal, but it will cost him or her £20. The money will be returned if the appeal is successful.

Other proposals given the thumbs up, included reserve days for the semi-finals and final in the Tanner and Moore Cup competitions, umpires fees to be increased by £5 to £30 per game and teas to go up by 50p to £3 per player.

But the league executive’s suggestion to bring the start of the season forward seven days to the third weekend in April was blocked by clubs.

The proposal to give the Tanner and Moore Cup finalists, plus the team finishing highest in divisions one and two, byes in round one of the knock-out competitions the following season was also stymied, so too was Bamford Fieldhouse’s submission to re-introduce the rule where the ball is called a wide if it is bowled down the leg side.

Other rule change proposals adopted were —

::Teams will lose five points for every late scoresheet, although these can now be sent in by fax or email as well as by post.

::Proposals at the annual meeting shall be decided by a majority of five of those member clubs present.

::Clubs must now nominate an umpire who is available for home matches when the league is unable to supply an official umpire. The name of the person must be forwarded to the league secretary by April 1.

::Players selected for the league’s representative side for the Inter-League Trophy will not be allowed to play in any other game on the same date, if unavailable to the league side.

::Any substitute in the cup competitions must be a registered player of the fielding side and current year registration card must be shown to the umpire.

::Play in evening games — this refers to Tanner and Moore Cup ties held over from the Sunday — can continue for as long as umpires consider conditions are fit.


THE Saddleworth and District Cricket League remains in a healthy state despite making a loss of £1,686 in the year ending to September 30, 2008.

That figure is in contrast to a surplus of £3,098 for the previous 12 months.

Clubs were handed a copy of the balance sheet at the annual meeting which showed an overall fund of £15,291.

Fines were down from £2,065 to just £774, while the league received donations of £136 in 2008 as opposed to £5,635 in 2007.

In order to retrieve some of the deficit, the the cost of league handbooks next season will go up by 50p to £2.50.