I. REPORTS OF INTERNAL SUSPENSIONS (NEW)

 

 WHAT'S THIS ABOUT

To provide a mechanism for enforcing internal club sanctions for misbehaviour including when the player then jumps to a new club.

SUMMARY OF CHANGES

• Coming soon
  

DISCUSSION

There's a sensitive story at the heart of this that may require careful retelling.

In short, with no names used, to protect both the innocent and the guilty...

• A player (suffering from some form of rustration) gobbed on someone at a cricket match (probably off the field, we don't actually know). 
• The umpire was unable to take action since a) he didn't see it b) it did not take place on the field of play. 
• Be aware that the Code of Behaviour does actually apply to association players, members and umpires at all times and places. e.g. if a member of the association yells abuse at a NSW player during a Sheffield Shield match at the Gabba on a Tuesday, he can be cited under the Qld Cricket Code of Behaviour. The same form would be used and everything... true fact. 
• Relax, your civil rights are ok. If you're yelling at your kids or swearing at traffic, you'll be alright because you're unlikely to be breaking the cricket code of conduct there....
• Technically, the club secretary or any player in the match is allowed to make an Appendix A Code of Behaviour report. (See Appendix A section 4(a)).
• Such a report would be unusual and extremely rare. 
• Anyway, no such Appendix A Code of Behaviour Report about this incident was received in this case.
• The player's own club took some disciplinary action. We think it was a suspension from team selection for several weeks.
• At which point the player decided to leave that club and join another.
• He was playing for the new club in the next game.
• Quite how this happened is further a mystery because of Regulation 5.1. Why did the player's club grant a clearance? (Maybe they decided they wanted to be rid of a troublesome person?)

5 CLEARANCES FOR PLAYERS CHANGING CLUBS

Applies to All Competitions NOW Applies Sunday 50/Super 20 too

5.1 No player will be free to leave one Club and join another during the same season without clearance from the first club and the consent of the Management Committee.

• But happen it did.

The question was then asked is it possible to make a Regulation which forces a club to report such internal disciplinary actions? (i.e. tell us or anything.)

This is very hard to make a rule about because it's out of the committee's actual control. 

Clubs commit to paying their bills and following the rules (by signing an agreement at the start of the season) but apart from that they run independently. If a club chooses to tell us or not to tell us what is happening in their club then that's their own choice. QSDCA has no majestic right to compel clubs to do things.

By the same argument, it would be hard to have individual clubs compel the association or the committee to do something. They might argue for it. That it is in the best interests of the association or the game of cricket perhaps but the choice is the committee's or the vote taken at an association meeting. 

Cumbersome that may be, but that's how it works.

Also hard is the idea that there wouldn't be anything much in the way of a vexacious attempt by a club to manipulate the committee into a revenge sanction.

(e.g. Club decides they don't like someone, they 'dob' 'em in to the committee, who goes ahead with that someone is 'banned' (or something), evil and wrong festers, rubbing its hands with glee and cackling in a pantomime way... )

There's no simple rule we can write to make this happen automatically. 

The best we can do is develop trustful relationships between all clubs, the QSDCA committee and those of other affiliated cricket associations (inc. CCC, WCA, QC etc) in order to administer effective, co-ordinated, co-operative action.

In this case perhaps the club should have made a COB report?

PROPOSED CHANGES

The Qld Cricket Codes of Behaviour (there are three) has many references to "Grade Committee". That is the body which administers Premier Cricket (Souths, Valleys, Wynnum, Norths etc). 

We really should have a line in our regulations that makes clear that where the Codes of Behaviour say "Grade Committee", it should be taken to mean "QSDCA Management Committee" as well.

For example in Appendix A Code of Behaviour s4(a)

4. METHOD OF HANDLING BREACHES OF THE CODE OF BEHAVIOUR
[a] An alleged breach of the Code of Behaviour may be reported by:
[i] Either or both Umpires;
[ii] The Secretaries of the Clubs participating in the match in which the alleged breach occurred;
[iii] A Player participating in the particular match in which an alleged breach occurs;
[iv] A Queensland Cricket Conducts Commissioner;
[v] Any member of the Grade Committee; or
[vi] The Chief Executive Officer of Queensland Cricket.

This clause lists all those who can make a COB report. Players, umpires and the QC CEO are allowed but not the President or Secretary of this association. 

So let's add this to Regulation 41.

41.5 In the Policies Appendixes enabled in Regulation 41.1 to 41.3 the use of the term "Grade committee" is taken to include the Management Committee of this association.

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ABM 7-Jun-2023

(Update 4-Jul-2023)

Back to INTRODUCTION

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