League look to act over county pros

CRICKET:

CENTRAL Lancashire Cricket League bosses have taken steps to deter member clubs from employing professionals already holding county contracts.

Their desire for action was provoked by the Luke Procter situation at Royton last season, when the Paddock club’s paid man missed many league and John Willie Lees Wood Cup matches because of his commitments to Lancashire.

In a bid to avoid a repetition, the CLL management committee has tabled a proposal which will be voted on at Friday’s annual meeting at Middleton Cricket Club.

It says that any club signing a professional who already has a county contract will receive an

automatic fine of £250 for every game he cannot play because of his commitments.

Furthermore, if in this scenario a bona fide professional replacement cannot be found, then guilty clubs could incur a further fine.

And, in a final attempt to dissuade clubs from employing county-contracted pros, a deputy would not be allowed to play in the Wood Cup.

Had these rules been in place last season, Royton — who were perfectly open about the Procter situation from the start of the campaign — would have incurred thousands of pounds in fines.

And they would not have been able to field deputy professionals in the quarter-final (Chesney Hughes), semi-final (Jamie How) and final (Hughes) of the Wood Cup.

CLL secretary Alan Wright admitted the league’s wish to act had been sparked by the events at Royton last season.

He said: “League rules stipulate that a professional should be available to play in all league and cup matches. This proposal is an attempt to ensure that.”




ROYTON have tabled a proposal of their own following their terrific run to the Wood Cup final.



The Paddock outfit want to introduce a free hit following a no-ball in Wood Cup matches, with batsmen only able to be dismissed by a run out.

In a bid to give the facing batsman an even greater advantage, Royton are also suggesting that the opposition should not be allowed to alter the field for the free hit unless a different batsman from the one who faced the original delivery is on strike.

In another suggestion for the Wood Cup, Norden want to introduce power plays.

They are suggesting that after the first 10 overs there should be two five-over power plays in which only three fielders will be allowed outside the inner circle.

The captains of the two sides would decide when to introduce their power plays and, if neither had done so after 40 overs, the final 10 would automatically become subject to the fielding restrictions.