OCC Procedures/Guidelines to Regulations
As advised prior to the season, there are several areas where although there has been no significant alteration in regulations compared to previous years, various developments have facilitated them being enforced more stringently. At our recent OCC meeting it was agreed to send a note to clubs summarising how various regulations are being enforced.
Player Registration Sanctions
Electronic registration was introduced some years ago. Although it has proved convenient for the most part, certain problems have existed in terms of linking it to regulations on eligibility, player identification to combat personation etc. One consequence of this was that when a player showed up as unregistered on a result card, it was discovered in some cases that this was not necessarily due to clear failures on behalf of the individual or the club concerned. This meant that OCC found it difficult to apply the automatic sanctions that the regulations allow. It was felt that such automatic sanction could quite likely lead to substantial numbers of arguments and appeals which would be difficult and particularly time consuming to resolve on an equitable basis. Over the winter months , the OCC discussed this problem and the chair (Philip Deacon) and secretary (Michael Sharp) met with website administrator (Paul Reynolds) to learn of and discuss certain improvements in the system. OCC is now satisfied that the system is now sufficiently reliable and robust that automatic sanction in cases of non-registration can now happen and this is taking place.
There is one particular development which was outlined on the website before the start of the season. In the General Playing Regulations there are specific ones on eligibility – in particular the various paragraphs of regulations 1 and 2. Simply registering on the website does not mean that a player is actually eligible to play. OCC must be satisfied on this point. The registration system now provides that where a player registers for the first time, the registration does not become effective for four days. This is stated clearly on the first page of the registration system. An individual who plays prior to this four days having elapsed will show up as unregistered and be liable to sanction. Thus for a player to play on a Saturday, the registration must have been entered into the system no later than the previous Tuesday and similarly for other days (Wednesday for Sunday etc.).
When a result card is submitted and a player shows up as unregistered, an automatic deduction of 5 points from the team’s league record will ensue. Please note that OCC has agreed that this will happen even if the match in question was a cup match (weekend or T20). The imposition of a sanction will be stated on the website. A club may if it wishes make representations by email to OCC if it feels that there are extenuating circumstances which make the sanction unfair. Whether or not such representations are received OCC will consider all sanctions that have occurred during a month at its monthly meeting and either confirm or remove the sanction. I should stress that it is expected that any such removal would happen only in a very small number of cases. Where a sanction is confirmed, the club will then be officially informed of this decision and can then make an appeal to the Appeals Board in the way provided under the rules of the union.
Registration of Players Changing Clubs
There is no change to the regulations here but it may be appropriate to remind clubs of the procedure. With the exception of Trinity players moving to their second club, General Playing Regulation 2.4 and the relevant footnotes apply. Note in particular that a "cooling off" period between appearances for different clubs will always apply.
Result Card Return
As with the registration system, certain issues had arisen with this that led in previous years to OCC having reservations about automatic sanction for late returns. We tended therefore to issue reminders and warnings and only apply sanctions in cases where these were obviously not having the desired effect. Again we are now satisfied that the system is sufficiently robust for automatic sanctions to apply. For weekend matches the deadline is midweek on the following Tuesday. For weekday games the deadline is midnight on the third day following the fixture i.e. Thursday for Monday, Friday for Tuesday etc. Cards received after the deadline will mean a five point deduction from the team’s league record and again this will occur even if the match was not a league fixture. The sanction will be posted on the website and representations by email can be made to OCC. At its monthly meeting, OCC will consider all such sanctions, advise the club if one is confirmed (probably most cases) and an appeal to the Appeal Board can be filed if a club wishes to do so.
Captains Reports on Umpires
Again in past years, OCC was not happy that the system in use was sufficiently robust to allow automatic sanctions and we relied on reminders, warnings and sanction only for continual default. The Leinster Cricket Umpires and Scorers Association (LCUSA) has introduced a new reporting system which we believe will address a number of the problems that we had found with the previous one. We have yet to receive a first report from LCUSA on captains reports defaulters but on the basis of what we have been informed, we are confident that automatic sanctions can also begin to be implemented here.
Starring Lists
There are no changes in the starring regulations. Nevertheless it is felt appropriate to highlight and explain certain aspects of how the system works.
The OCC meets on the second Wednesday of each month. Remaining dates for the season are 14th June, 12th July, 9th August. Updated starring lists must be submitted to the website by midnight on the day before (usually but not always the second Tuesday). It is important to remember to click on publish when one is finished compiling ones list. Only if a list is submitted on time can proper analysis of it take place. Accordingly OCC has decided that failure/delay in submitting lists by the above deadline will be punished by a deduction of five points per team. It is important to realise that even if a club does not intend to make any changes to its existing list, it must still actually compile and submit it.
It is also important to realise that the website “rolls over” a list on the 1st of the month. Therefore a club has several days to start to make the changes necessary and there is no reason for everything to be done at the last minute. This facility of the site can in fact cause confusion. It is important to realise that if one enters the system after the 1st of a month and makes alterations to the list one sees, you are only changing the list that you will be proposing for the next month, not the one that is currently in force and published on the site. A club cannot directly change what is on the site. Any changes have to be done through OCC.
Inclusion on a starring list for the coming month means a club is saying that all these players will play regularly during the month. Players who are known to be missing for several weeks due to e.g injury, holidays etc. should not be included.
Apart from the requirement to submit a revised list each month, there is another regulation that means that lists have to be updated between meetings. A player who does not play at least once over four weekends must be removed from the list and suitable amendment(s) made. There are a few points about this
Please note all of the above. If you have any queries, please contact me.
Michael Sharp
Secretary OCC
May 2017