2016/17 FINES TO JUNE 1st

Date: 9th June 2017

The fines collected for failings in reporting match results to June 1st have been added to those from October 2016 for clubs failing to attend General Meetings etc.

The headline news is that fines are very similar to those a year ago taking into account the later start to this season's fixtures but they are still too high and MC is disappointed by that; as explained at the pre season meetings and in previous website postings, we really do want clubs to be fined at much lower levels in the future - ideally at zero in the rest of 2017 and ever onwards!

Eight clubs (B'head Park, Irby, Liverpool, Parkfield Liscard, Formby, Northop Hall, Prestatyn and Fleetwood Hesketh) have totals equal to or above £100, whereas last year there were thirteen so there is some progress and we hope that that is a trend that continues.

The fines levied for some of the various offences are worth mentioning:

"Summary Result late on Play-Cricket" - the problems in the first week with computer scoring meant that this first week was not included. But since then on 21 (!) occasions teams have failed to either enter by 10 pm (1st XIs) or Sunday mid-day (other XIs).

"Scorecard entry not confirmed by the home team" - 29 instances have been recorded. It is not sufficient to just enter the scorecards, often now done electronically from TCS or similar, but teams need to confirm that this has been done and is correct.

"Scorecards not confirmed as checked by the away team" - on 30 occasions this has been recorded as not done.

"Match Result Forms and Team Sheets" - there have been 35 instances of late or incomplete and on 8 occasions one or other team sheet was missing. These forms are essential records of results signed by scorers, umpires and captains. Some are received late but the majority no at all. The forms are required for every league and cup match.

"Unsure players" - again 35 instances of one or more unsure players have been recorded on the Play-Cricket scorecards, on a few occasins most of the team. Primarily a problem at 3rd XI this failing is difficult to understand given the facility to register such players up to 48 hours after they have played.

"Conceded and defaulted matches" - a total fine of £420 for 17 such occurrencies against 53 in the whole of last season and we are just a quarter way into this season. This despite the reduction in fines at 3rd XI and the fact that on 23 occasions teams have played with less than 11 players for which there is no fine. Clubs should encourage their teams to fulfil as many fixtures as possibe even if it means playing with seven, a call to the opposition will probably mean a reasonable contest is possible within the Spirit of Cricket and those available enjoying their weekly recreation.

"Captain's cards" - these reports of the umpires' performance are essential to MCUA to help improve the general standard of umpiring and to ensure that the best umpires stand in the most important fixtures. 19 cards have been received late against 39 in the whole of last season. It is not recommended that captains complete these reports immediately after the match but as soon as possible afterwards when a rational view, away from a possible contentious decision, can be given.

"General Meetings" - failing to attend any of the four general meeting each year is very disappointing to all the league officials. They put in a tremendous amount of work to make sure the league runs efficiently and effectively. These meetings are the clubs' opportunity to have a say in these matters and the apparent appathy is disrespectful to say the least. A total fine of £825 has been recorded for this financial year.

Any club wishing to receive its list of fines should contact me (hadfield369@btinternet.com) and I shall be happy to oblige.

Hoping to see an improvement for the rest of the season!

Eric Hadfield - L&DCC President