DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES OF THE PEMBROKE COUNTY CRICKET CLUB

The Pembroke County Cricket Club have adopted the England and Wales Cricket Board Recreational Conduct Regulations.

ENGLAND AND WALES CRICKET BOARD RECREATIONAL CONDUCT REGULATIONS

1.From 1st March 2023.
(a) all Relevant Cricket Organisations are bound by and must familiarise themselves with the requirements of these Regulations;
(b) all Participants must comply with the disciplinary process set out in these Regulations in respect of any alleged breach of these Regulations by the Participant;
(c) all Relevant Cricket Organisations must adopt these Regulations and implement the requirements of these Regulations in respect of the disciplinary processes they carry out.
(d) all Relevant Cricket Organisations shall appoint an individual or group of individuals to take responsibility for any disciplinary matters and appeals arising in relation to cricketers or clubs participating in the relevant cricket league.
(e) all Relevant Cricket Organisations must provide the ECB with any details requested in relation to any disciplinary matters it has carried out in accordance with these Regulations.
(f) THE INDIVIDUAL OFFICER UNDER (d) ABOVE WILL BE THE HON SECRETARY.

2. Any disciplinary sanctions imposed under these Regulations will be separate to any sanctions imposed under a Participant’s employment contract or any action taken in accordance with a Club, League or County Cricket Board’s terms of membership.

CONDUCT OBLIGATIONS
On and around the field of play
3. Any cricketer shall be in breach of these Regulations, at the relevant level of offence detailed below, if they do not conduct themselves fairly and properly on and around the field of play and otherwise in accordance with the Laws of Cricket or the Spirit of Cricket. Such conduct which will result in breach of these Regulations shall include any misconduct of a cricketer on any match day as specified in Law 42 of the Laws of Cricket, namely:
Level 1
a. wilfully mistreating any part of the cricket ground or any equipment or implements used in the match;
b. showing dissent at an umpire’s decision by word or action;
c. using language that, in the circumstances, is obscene, offensive or insulting;
d. making an obscene gesture;
e. appealing excessively;
f. advancing towards an umpire in an aggressive manner when appealing; and/or
g. any other misconduct, the nature of which is, in the opinion of the umpires, equivalent to a Level 1 offence; or

Level 2
h. showing serious dissent at an umpire’s decision by word or action;
i. making inappropriate and deliberate physical contact with another cricketer;
j. throwing the ball at a cricketer, umpire or another person in an inappropriate and dangerous manner;
k. using language or gesture to another cricketer, umpire, team official or spectator that, in the circumstances, is obscene or of a seriously insulting nature; and/or
l. any other misconduct, the nature of which is, in the opinion of the umpires, equivalent to a Level 2 offence; or

Level 3
m. intimidating an umpire by language or gesture; and/or
n. threatening to assault a cricketer or any other person except an umpire; or

Level 4
o. threatening to assault an umpire;
p. making inappropriate and deliberate and/or dangerous physical contact with an umpire;
q. physically assaulting a cricketer or any other person; and/or
r. committing any other act of violence.

4.A cricketer shall also be in breach of these regulations on and around the field of play if they:
(a) Commit any breach of Law 41 of the Laws of Cricket (Unfair Play) or
(b) Act in a manner contrary to the ECB’s Anti-Discrimination Code; or
(c) Conduct themselves in a manner or act in a manner which is improper, or which may be prejudicial to the interests of cricket, or which may bring the ECB, the game of cricket or any cricketer or group of cricketers into disrepute.

5. Any coach, match official or Club Official shall be in breach of these Regulations if they fail to conduct themselves fairly and properly on any part of the cricket ground on any match day. Conduct which is not fair and proper and will therefore result in a breach of these Regulations shall include, but not be limited to:
(a) making inappropriate and deliberate and/or dangerous physical contact with, threatening to assault, physically assaulting or committing any act of violence towards any other Participant (including an umpire) or any member of the public;
(b) showing dissent at an umpire’s decision by language or gesture, advancing towards an umpire in an aggressive manner when appealing or intimidating an umpire by language or gesture;
(c) using language that, in the circumstances, is obscene, offensive, insulting or seriously insulting;
(d) making an obscene or seriously insulting gesture;
(e) conducting themselves in a manner or acting in a manner which is improper, or which may be prejudicial to the interests of cricket, or which may bring the ECB, the game of cricket or any cricketer or group of cricketers into disrepute; and/or
(f) acting in a manner contrary to the ECB’s Anti-Discrimination Code.

Captain/Team responsibility
6. If any cricketer commits three or more breaches of Regulation 3 or4 (Conduct obligations on and around the field of play), which take place during or immediately before or after a match, when playing for the same Club in a season it shall automatically be a separate offence of failing to ensure that the relevant cricketers have complied with their obligations for each of:
(a )Any person who captained the team in each of the relevant match(es); and
(b) The Club the cricketer was playing for.

7. Clubs shall also be held responsible for disorderly behaviour on any part of the cricket ground on any match day by their members and spectators, unless they can show that:
(a) they took adequate steps to ensure that their members and spectators behaved in an orderly fashion; and/or
(b) they did not or could not control entry to that part of the cricket ground by the relevant spectators and it would therefore not be fair for them to be held responsible.
Off-field conduct

8. A Participant shall be in breach of these Regulations if they commit any misconduct as set out below which either relates to their participation in Recreational Cricket and/or is of a sufficiently serious nature to justify disciplinary action being taken in relation to their participation in Recreational Cricket:
a. making an abusive, obscene, offensive or otherwise insulting comment or gesture (in any form) in relation to any other Participant or any other person;
b. any act of violence towards another person;
c. engaging in behaviour that constitutes any form of abuse or harassment, whether physical, sexual, emotional, neglectful or bullying in nature;
d. any breach of the ECB Anti-Discrimination Code;
e. making any adverse public statement or comment in any form and by any means about the performance and/or decision(s) of any match official(s);
f. failing to report to their Club, any Relevant Criminal Offence for which they have been subject to investigation and/or charged with;
g. conducting themselves in a manner, or doing or omitting to do anything which is or may be prejudicial to the best interests of cricket, or which may bring or does bring the game of cricket, any Participant, Club, League, County Cricket Board or the ECB, into disrepute;
h. engaging in any corrupt conduct in relation to cricket, in particular:
i) fixing the result, progress, conduct or any aspect of the match;
ii) ensuring the occurrence of a particular incident in a match;
iii) accepting a bribe to conduct the activities described in i) or ii) above
iv) receiving a custodial sentence for any of the activities described in i)-iii) above;
v) failing to comply with any decisions or sanctions validly imposed on them following due process as prescribed by these Regulations.

9. Participants are considered responsible for any relevant posts on their social media accounts and may be in breach of Regulations 8 for posting, repeating, commending or supporting posts or comments by others (e.g. ‘retweeting’ or ‘liking’) on social media that amount to a conduct breach under Regulation 9.

10. Umpires shall report any On Field Breaches or Off-Field Breaches which occurs on or around the field of play to the Hon Secretary of Pembroke County Cricket Club irrespective of any action they may have taken on the field of play.

11. Other individuals can also report On Field or Off Field Breaches:
a) to the umpire, in which case the umpire shall report it as above
b) to a captain or Club Official, if there is no umpire appointed to a particular match, who shall report it to the Hon Secretary of the Pembroke County Cricket Club.
c) To the Hon Secretary of the Pembroke County Cricket Club directly.

12. ALL REPORTS MUST BE MADE WITHIN 7 DAYS OF THE INCIDENT IN WRITING OR EMAIL.

13. A Relevant Disciplinary Body may become aware of, and may consider, a potential or alleged breach of these Regulations without an umpire or an independent individual having reported the matter to the Relevant Disciplinary Body.

14. Relevant Cricket Leagues must ensure that any disciplinary processes conducted under these RCR comply with the following requirements:
a. Relevant Cricket Leagues shall appoint a Disciplinary Officer (or Disciplinary Officers) in respect of each case.
b. The Disciplinary Officer shall decide whether to charge the relevant Participant with a breach of these RCR, having conducted any further investigation they consider necessary.
c. The Participant who has been charged shall be informed what breach they are being charged with and given the opportunity to respond to the charge.
d. The Disciplinary Officer shall appoint an individual (or group of individuals) to consider the charge (i) on the basis of the written evidence only or (ii) at a hearing. In either case, the following principles must be complied with:
i. The Participant shall be informed who will be making the decision and given the opportunity to object to their appointment on the basis of any conflict of interest.
ii. If the charge will be considered at a hearing, the Participant shall be given the opportunity to attend and make representations to the decision-maker(s).
iii) The decision-maker(s) may seek further information about the charge from the Participant or the Disciplinary Officer (or any other third party they deem necessary, including the umpire or reporting party) before making a decision.
iv) In exceptional cases, the decision-maker(s) may suspend a Participant from participating in cricket until the case has been considered. Before doing so, the decision-maker(s) will consider whether that is appropriate in the circumstances of the case (including the seriousness of the alleged breach and whether the Participant is contesting the charge).
v. The decision-maker(s) will consider the charge and determine whether, on the balance of probabilities, there has been a breach of these Regulations. A decision made by a group of individuals shall be made on the basis of a majority vote.
vi. If there has been a breach of these Regulations, the decision-maker(s) will impose a sanction in accordance with the sanction guidelines which appear in Appendix 1.
vii. The decision, including any sanction, shall be clearly communicated to the Participant and the Participant’s Club as soon as reasonably possible.

15. The Participant shall have the opportunity to appeal any decision. The appeal will comply with the following requirements:
a. Decisions may only be appealed on one of the following grounds:
i. the decision-maker(s) came to a decision to which no reasonable body could have come;
ii. there was a serious procedural irregularity, which includes the decisionmaker(s) not following the principles set out in Regulation 12, which significantly impacted the Participant’s rights and caused the decision to be unjust;
iii) there is fresh evidence which could not be presented before the decision was made but is material to the decision; and/or
v) the sanction imposed was manifestly excessive.
b. The Disciplinary Officer shall appoint an individual (or group of individuals) to consider the appeal (i) on the basis of the written evidence only or (ii) at a hearing. No individual who has previously been involved with the case shall be appointed to consider the appeal.
c. The process for the appeal shall comply with RCR 12(d)(i)-(iv).
d. The decision-maker(s) shall consider the appeal and determine whether, on the balance of probabilities, the appeal shall be allowed (in whole or in part). A decision made by a group of individuals shall be made on the basis of a majority vote.
e. If the appeal is allowed, the decision-maker(s) shall decide whether to disapply the sanction previously imposed or issue a new sanction in accordance with the sanctions guidelines which appear in Appendix 1.
f. The decision, including any sanction, shall be clearly communicated to the Participant and the Participant’s Club as soon as reasonably possible.
g. Any decision in respect of appeal is final and binding and there is no further right of appeal.
h. Appeals must be made within 4 days following notification of any sanction. It must be accompanied by £50 which maybe returned at the discretion of the Appeal Board.

MISCELLANEOUS
16. Relevant Cricket Leagues must maintain a record of all disciplinary decisions and, where applicable, sanctions imposed.

Appendix 1
Sanction Guidelines
1. The table below sets out recommended sanctions to be applied on Participants in respect of On-Field Breaches. However, the Disciplinary Chair or Disciplinary Panel shall not be limited to imposing the recommended sanctions and can impose greater or lesser sanctions as appropriate in the circumstances of the particular case.
2. Unless the Disciplinary Chair or Disciplinary Panel stipulate otherwise, bans shall apply to all cricket, be effective immediately and remain on the Participant’s record for 24 calendar months from the date of the breach.

3. If Disciplinary Chairs or Disciplinary Panels prefer, they can stipulate that bans cover:
a. A specific time period, e.g. one week; and/or
b. A specific number of days of cricket.

4.The Disciplinary Chair or Disciplinary Panel shall take into account all aggravating and mitigating factors when determining the appropriate sanction. The Disciplinary Chair or Disciplinary Panel shall determine whether, and to what extent, to depart from the standard sanctions and/or to impose additional penalties as they deem fit, including (but not limited to) the following, which may be suspended (in full or in part):

Participant
a. Caution or reprimand
b. Letter of apology
c. Fine of no more than £500
d. Ban of a period of matches or weeks
e. Expulsion of the cricketer from a League or competition

Club or League
f. Caution or reprimand
g. Letter of apology
h. Fine of no more than £500
i. Deduction of a Club’s league points
j. Expulsion of a Club from a League or competition
k. Relegation to a lower division of a League.

5.The Disciplinary Chair or Disciplinary Panel shall give consideration to the following aggravating and mitigating factors, as appropriate, to include but not limited to:

Aggravating factors
a. The ages of the Participant and any victim at the time of the offence, particularly where the victim was a minor and the Participant was not.
b. The profile of the Participant, including whether they hold a position of responsibility within their Club (e.g. Club captain, Chair or member of senior management).
c. Poor previous disciplinary record.
d. Failure to cooperate with the Disciplinary Officer and/or Relevant Disciplinary Body.
e. Any attempt to conceal the breach.
f. The extent of any premeditation or planning.
g. The level of harm and/or distress incurred.
h. The public nature of the offence (such as commission of the offence in a public place, via broadcast media or a social media platform).
i. Use of discriminatory language or conduct, or any other behaviour that breaches the ECB’s Anti-Discrimination Code, whilst also carrying out a separate offence under the Regulations.

Mitigating factors
a. Good previous disciplinary record.
b. The age of the Participant at the time of the offence.
c. Admission at the earliest opportunity, where the factual conduct forming the basis of the charge would be capable of being disputed.
d. Demonstration of genuine remorse.
e. Co-operation with the Disciplinary Officer and/or Relevant Disciplinary Body.
f. Inexperience of the Participant by reference to their age or background at the time of the offence.
g. In respect of social media posts, the age of the post and the Participant’s age at the time of the post.

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