The Shepherd Neame Essex League 2001 Agm

THE SHEPHERD NEAME ESSEX LEAGUE 2015 AGM DRAFT MINUTES FOR APPROVAL AT THE 2016 AGM

Meeting held at the County Ground Chelmsford on Sunday 29th November 2015 The meeting started at 10.00am and ended at 11.15

1 ATTENDANCE AND APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

In Attendance:A. Kennedy (Chairman) C.Greenhill (Secretary) T Clarke G Jelley A Jenner T Kilby A Pearson G.Salmon T Sanderson M Vandome

Representatives of 38 member clubs (Hutton arrived late) Apologies D Evans, A Akram, A Page

Absent Brentwood, Walthamstow

2 MINUTES OF 2015 AGM AND MATTERS ARISING The minutes were approved. Proposed – R Curtis Seconded – M Pluck There were no matters arising.

3 CHAIRMAN’S REPORT Andrew Kennedy (Colchester & East Essex) It has been a challenging year with a drop in the overall number of teams. The lowest division having less than ten teams. We were encouraged that we had 14 applicants to join the Playing Regulations Sub- Committee. Those selected have been notified as have the other applicants. The first meeting is this Wednesday. It is encouraging that players from the League are successfully making it through to the County team. Although Reece Topley has moved on from Essex he is representing England and Nick Browne and Jamie Porter won a number of the awards at the end of season event. Some clubs still cause us problems by not replying to messages promptly

4 REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015 Michael Vandome (Chelmsford)

All the clubs will have received copies of the accounts for the year. There is a reduction in subscriptions due to the handbook being produced on line. There will be no penalties for sides dropping out before the end of March. We are lucky to have such excellent sponsors but a reduction in sponsorship is likely. Clubs should discuss their bar requirements with Shepherd Neame. It will be difficult to obtain a comparable sponsor. We have enough money to cope with a year or so with no sponsorship. The accounts have been approved by the auditors

Proposed – R Mason Seconded - W Morrison

5 REPORTS a) SECRETARY Cliff Greenhill (Loughton)

I have continued to send information by email where possible to save on postage. Can all clubs please ensure I am advised by email of the current club contacts and any changes of email address. Also please check regularly on the website as all important messages are posted on there. Details of meeting dates are also published in the Handbook.

I would like to thank Dan Feist and all his staff at the County for their assistance. In particular, I would like to mention Graham Jelley Essex Cricket Development Manager for his hard work and making the County Ground available. Graham works hard to support recreational cricket in Essex and is on our committee and umpiring panel. We are grateful to the Development Department for the help they give clubs in many ways including improving facilities and pitches, training coaches, obtaining grant aid and supporting youth cricket.

There have been 9 Executive Committee Meetings this year and a Special General Meeting. In addition two Management Meetings were held. Clubs were also invited to a series of mid-season meetings to air their views and early season meetings to discuss 2nd XI limited over cricket.

Our thanks are due to the County Club, Brentwood, Chelmsford, Gidea Park & Romford, Loughton and Woodford Wells for allowing us to use their premises to hold our meetings. Plus Brentwood, Hadleigh & Thundersley and Loughton for review meetings.

Thanks also to our umpires who provide excellent coverage The umpires reports on clubs facilities, discipline and hospitality have been distributed. They are most useful and clubs should take note of these marks. We had hardly any exception club reports for lower XIs. We are very grateful to Deryck Povey who has collated all the marks despite major problems with the on line reporting system.

Thanks to Andy Jenner who produced the handbook. Tom Clarke will be co- ordinating the production of an on line handbook for 2016.

Thanks also to Adrian Page for organising this years dinner and to Andy Jenner who has carried out this arduous task for several years

The draw for cup competitions will be made at the end of the meeting and displayed on the website.

We lost to the Elliott Davis League at Loughton in the semi-final of the CCC Sovereign Trophy. Joe Robbins did well to raise strong sides throughout the competition and he and his team should be congratulated. It was a pity to lose to the eventual winners the Elliott Davis League who as a Sunday League are allowed to use several players from our Premier League who are not eligible to play for us in the competition.

The CCC are running the Sovereign Cup again in 2016. We are making sure that our best players get the opportunity to represent the Conference.

The Play-Cricket is again being revamped to make it more user friendly please take advantage of the winter months to update your player details via George Salmon where necessary. Please encourage all your players to sign up themselves on Play- Cricket. We get additional funding if enough players sign up. Unfortunately this year despite our requests not enough from our league did and we failed to get a bonus payment from the ECB.

We are still lucky to have our own magnificent site run by George Salmon

Clubs are reminded that they must have a nominated fully trained Child Welfare Officer.

Clubs are also reminded that to take part in an ECB Premier Division and Division 1 they must be accredited with Clubmark. ECB are reviewing the Clubmark process in 2016 to reduce the amount of paperwork required and the system is likely to be on hold for next year with Clubmark clubs just carrying out an annual health check.

The ECB are again offering Premier Leagues cash incentives to have clubs use computer scoring systems and especially on line scoring. More clubs seem to have people capable of doing this sometimes in addition to the traditional scorer. CricHQ have taken over Total Cricket Scorer and are offering clubs and leagues incentives to use their systems. We will be meeting with them. CricHQ have suggested that it is mandatory for Premier clubs to have live scoring. ECB have confirmed that this is not the case.

ECB have just issued new safety regulations on helmets and new standards for helmets. These apply to professional cricket but also are recommended in the amateur game. The regulations for young cricketers have been strengthened.

Clubs are again reminded of the regulations involving players in the Under 13 age group and under and especially those who are Under 11 and under. The ECB handout was distributed to all clubs and is detailed in the Handbook. There could be major insurance issues if clubs ignore these regulations.

Finally I would like to wish everyone a happy Christmas and a successful new year. b) FIXTURES SECRETARY Tom Clarke (Harold Wood) Tom expects to publish the fixtures early in the new year. TOM PLEASE ADD YOUR COMMENTS c) RESULTS SECRETARY George Salmon (Basildon & Pitsea) I do not have a lot to say as most was previously said at the end of season meeting. Overseas players from the 2015 season will be removed. Please check category 3 exempt players as some will no longer be category 3 exempt. At the request of Martin Pluck, George will produce a list of players in that category d) DISCIPLINARY REPORT Tony Sanderson (Epping) Thanks to Andrew Kennedy in particular and to Pip George who assisted on difficult disciplinary matters. It was a very disappointing year with a 70% increase and some very serious offences. There were 12 first and final warnings 9 Level 1 offences 9 Level 2 offences 0 Level 3 offences 3 Level 4 offences e) UMPIRES Tom Kilby Please encourage 1st XI captains to complete the reports on umpires promptly. If you have an issue with a particular umpire please phone Tom or Neil Bainton. In 2015 clubs were poor at returning the forms. There were problems with the online system so points were not deducted. We expect a more robust system in 2016 and if clubs do not comply they will receive a warning then points will be deducted. In answer to a question, where a side provides a qualified umpire and the other side has players umpiring the umpire if he is prepared to do so shall always stand at the bowler’s end. f) CRICKET BALLS Andrew Pearson (Woodford Wells) There were very few complaints comments were generally very favourable. Clubs were reminded that any sub-standard balls that are returned to Morrants will be replaced free of charge. Arfan Akram has spoken to Premier captains and the Premier league balls will remain as at present.

6 RESOLUTIONS

PROPOSAL 1 - RULE 10.2 – League Handbook Levies

The Executive Committee proposes that Rule 10.2 is amended as follows:-

Each member club will contribute an advertising levy of £250 per annum to be rebated at the rate of £125 per full page advertisement introduced by that member club to be inserted in the League Handbook.

Reason: From the 2016 season onwards the Executive Committee have decided to produce an online Handbook rather than a printed version which has reduced the cost.

37 clubs in favour the proposal was carried.

PROPOSAL 2 – GENERIC REGULATION A2 – Fixtures The Executive Committee proposes that Generic Regulation A2 is amended as follows:-

The fixtures shall be arranged by the Honorary Fixtures Secretary of the League in conjunction with the Fixtures Secretaries of Member Clubs. a) Member Clubs should advise the Honorary Fixtures Secretary of the number of teams they intend to enter into the League for the following season by 31st October of the preceding year.

b) If a Member Club were to withdraw one of their teams from the League after 31st March of that season the following penalties will apply:-

 10 points deducted from all teams of the conceding club, a £100 fine, the team is removed from the division and its record expunged.

 This penalty does not apply to or affect the 1st Xl of any club which plays in the 1st Xl Premier Division. Reason: The Executive Committee requires early indication of the intention of Member Club’s team entries so that the League Fixtures can be provided in a timely manner. Additionally if teams are withdrawn prior to 31st March there is still sufficient time to potentially amend the fixtures for that season to ensure minimal impact on Member Club’s teams in those affected Divisions.

34 clubs in favour 1 club against 2 clubs abstained

Therefore the proposal was carried

PROPOSAL 3 – GENERIC REGULATION A12.3 – Overseas players

The Executive Committee proposes that Generic Regulation A12.3 is amended as follows:-

A Member Club may not field more than one non-exempt overseas player in any match in any division.

A Member club may not field more than three overseas players in any 1st XI side, at least two of whom must be overseas exempt and have been ordinarily resident for 18 months.

There is no restriction on the number of Exempt Overseas Players a Member club may field for all non-1st XI matches, except as under 15 below.

Reason: To align our regulations with those required by the ECB for ECB accredited Premier Leagues, by allowing up to 3 overseas players (two of which are exempt) in 1st XI teams rather than the two overseas players previously allowed.

36 clubs in favour 1 abstained

PROPOSAL 4 – GENERIC REGULATION A17 – ECB Requirements The Executive Committee proposes that Generic Regulation A17 is amended as follows:-

In accordance with the accreditation by the ECB, the League will meet the following requirements: i. Ensure that all Member Clubs adhere to the ECB Guidelines for Junior Players in Open Age Cricket which includes the below:-

a. ECB Fast Bowling Directives for young fast bowlers

b. ECB Safety Guidance on the Wearing of Helmets by Young Players

c. ECB Fielding Regulations for young players

ii. Ensure that all Member Clubs and Umpires adhere to the ECB Premier League Disciplinary Regulations

iii. Ensure that all Member Clubs and Umpires adhere to the ECB Premier League Suspect Bowling Action Protocol

iv. Encourage players to make themselves available for the ECB Xl and for County Board or County Club sides. The following regulations will apply:

“Any player selected for an ECB Xl match or County representative match who does not make himself available will not be eligible to play in a Premier Division match scheduled for the same day unless approval is received from the ECB Director of Cricket Operations or Cricket Operations Manager (Recreational Cricket), or from the Manager of the County team in the case of County matches. This rule also covers the period when players would be expected to travel/report for ECB or County matches. Reason: To future proof this regulation such that it doesn’t require regular updates when ECB generic requirements and documents are updated. To also bring into scope the ECB Disciplinary Regulations and Suspect Bowling Action Protocol both required by the ECB for ECB accredited Premier Leagues. Copies of all the current regulations will be available on the League website and as appendices to this section in the Handbook. 37 clubs in favour

Therefore the proposal was carried PROPOSAL 5 – GENERIC REGULATION A19 – Notification of Results

The Executive Committee proposes that Generic Regulation A19 is amended as follows:-

Notification and checking of results: a. Each club must enter an accurate summary result and scores on play- cricket (including details of all times and lengths of rain stoppages and, in limited overs games, changes to targets and any over reductions) by 12 noon on the Sunday following the match. Failure to do so will result in a one point penalty.

b. Any team not entering full match details including names of all players on play-cricket by 12 noon on the Friday following the match (12 noon on the Monday following the match for all 1st XI matches) will have five points deducted.

c. Any team not ticking the box in the play-cricket results summary, which confirms the scorecard has been checked, by 12 noon on the Friday following the match (12 noon on the Monday following the match for all 1st XI matches) will have one point deducted.

d. As soon as possible after close of play, and by 8.30pm at the latest all First XI Home Clubs must telephone the result to Jo Greenhill on 020- 8502-2064. Failure to do so will result in a one point deduction and a £2 fine for the club. Reason: To provide further clarity on play-cricket reporting requirements as conflicting information was present in the 2015 Handbook and to ensure league tables are updated by the Sunday following the match. To reduce the workload of the League Play-Cricket Administrator by implementing a penalty for failing to provide sufficient information to allow him/her to be able to check the points claimed. Additionally to implement a penalty for failing to tick the box on the results summary section which confirms both teams agree with the submitted result and scorecard.

30 clubs in favour 4 against 3 abstained

PROPOSAL 6 - CONFIRMATION OF CANCELLATION OF ANY ARRANGED FIXTURE

Proposed by Fives & Heronians seconded by Wanstead & Snaresbrook

Amendment to Appendix A: Organisation and Playing Conditions of the Essex League Section A, All Divisions, Generic Rules That a third paragraph to be added to 8 (a) reading: “When captains or other club representatives have agreed during a telephone conversation to the cancellation of a match (whether by shortage of players or unfit conditions) which affect the points to be awarded or costs incurred then the details of the telephone conversation shall be confirmed by both parties by an exchange of SMS text messages as soon as is practicable and in any event no later than two hours after the conversation to be followed by an exchange

7 of emails copied to the Secretary of the League no later than 24 hours after the conversation.”

Reason: To prevent any dispute between clubs over what was actually agreed between the representatives of the clubs involved. 12 clubs in favour 24 against 2 abstained

Therefore the proposal was defeated

7 TO ELECT THE OFFICERS OF THE LEAGUE There was a proposal to elect all the current officers en bloc

Proposed – M Pluck Seconded – Doug Shewring All clubs were in favour and the committee were elected en bloc.

8 ELECTION OF AUDITORS Proposed - N Weekes Seconded – A Pearson The auditors Edmund Carr Chartered Accountants were elected unanimously.

9 ANY OTHER BUSINESS

The draw for the League Cup was carried out and will appear on the League website. The draw for the T20 competition for Division 1 and 2 clubs was carried out and will appear on the League website. All other clubs can enter a county wide T20 There will be a T20 Under 19 competition supported by the ECB

Graham Jelley reported that Geoff May had been awarded a long service award. Geoff was not present but the award will be passed on to him.

It was disappointing that some clubs winning trophies had not attended the dinner. Trophies not collected at the dinner were distributed

Andrew Kennedy explained the make up of the Playing Regulation Sub-Committee A handout was distributed to clubs and appears on the website.

Chris Nutt spoke about the problems Oakfield Parkonians have with the security of tenure of their ground and clubs would be asked to sign a petition.

Ron Curtis advised that Hadleigh & Thundersley are extending their pavilion it is expected that the work will be completed prior to the start of the season

Thanks were given to the County Club for the use of the County Ground for the meeting.