Administrative Rulings
1. Application of the Laws of Cricket
The Bye-Laws, Rules and Laws of Cricket under which all league cricket is to be played shall, in order of precedence be:
1.1 Bye-laws and Administrative Rulings of this Board
1.2 The MCC Laws of Cricket – (2000 Code Second edition – 2003) as recognized by Cricket South Africa shall apply.
SWD Cricket Board requests ALL CLUB SECRETARIES, CAPTAINS AND PLAYERS to peruse the Administrative Rulings herein and to acquaint themselves with the General Conditions of Play under which the various competitions are conducted.
2. AFFILIATION OF CLUBS
Each club participating in the all the leagues will pay an affiliation fee per team to SWD Cricket Board at the Annual General Meeting of each year. Any club, which fails to pay the subscribed affiliation fee, will not be included in the League competitions.
3. FIXTURES
Before the commencement of each season, the Local Leagues Committee of the SWD Cricket Board shall arrange the Fixtures in the various competitions, which shall be approved by the Executive Committee.
Dates and venues fixed shall not be altered.
If any match takes place at any time or venue, other than that published in the list, both participating teams shall forfeit all points to which they would be entitled – unless authorized by the Executive Committee.
4. Postponement of Matches
No match shall be played on any date other than set down in the approved list of fixtures unless consent of the General Manager SWD Cricket has been obtained.
The club requesting such change shall be responsible for negotiating an alternative date with their opponents. The agreed date must be prior to the scheduled date and written confirmation must be in possession of the General Manager SWD Cricket.
5. Withdrawal of sides and Non-Fulfillment of Fixtures
Any club having teams entered in leagues may only withdraw a team and thereby not fulfill a fixture on any particular occasion, if such team is the lowest team, which such club has entered in the leagues, provided further that:
5.1 The Secretary of the opposing club is given notice of such withdrawal at least 24 hours prior to the commencement of the match
5.2 The Board is given notice of such withdrawal not later than 24 hours prior to the scheduled commencement of the match.
The club withdrawing a side is not absolved from completing a result card on which it is clearly stated that such team was withdrawn from a match in accordance with the Bye-laws.
Clubs withdrawing teams from any competition shall be levied with the following fines (as applicable):
5.3 A fine of R100,00 in respect of each team withdrawn in spite of the club having complied with 5.1 and 5.2 above.
5.4 A further fine of R120,00 in the event of non-compliance with 5.1 above.
5.5 A further fine of R120,00 in the event of non-compliance with 5.2 above.
5.6 Match points will be awarded to the non-defaulting team.
5.7 If a club does not abide by the above, suspension of such a team shall be considered by the Executive Committee.
5.8. A further penalty will apply, in that no points will be awarded to all teams of the relevant offending club competing in lower leagues on the relevant date.
5.9. No team will be allowed to commence with scheduled fixtures unless fines were paid to the SWD Cricket Board. Failure thereof will also imply a deduction of fines from grants/allocations to clubs.
5.10 In the case where a team or club is suspended as a result of the outcome of a Disciplinary Hearing, and cannot fulfill such fixtures as scheduled as a result of the suspension, opposing teams will be awarded with full match points. It should however be noted that should a club or team be suspended because such club is awaiting trial for example as a result of administrative challenges (Constitutional Ruling) and cannot fulfill scheduled fixtures, such fixtures will be re-scheduled.
6. Responsibility of Clubs
“Clubs, especially Home clubs, must take adequate steps to ensure the good behaviour of their members and supporters towards players, umpires and officials. Therefore, the onus and liability lay upon Home clubs to ensure the safety and security of, umpires, players and Administrators against violent supporters and spectators”.
7. Disputes between Clubs
7.1 Any dispute between any clubs in any competition shall be referred to the Executive, whose decision shall be final and binding on both clubs.
7.2 Such disputes must be brought to the attention of the General Manager SWD Cricket within 72 hours (excluding weekends) of completing a match.
7.3 The Board will decide which procedure to adopt taking into consideration the circumstances of each case.
7.4 The Board has the right to condone late complaints.
8. CLUBS ON TOUR
Clubs wishing to undertake tours outside the official boundaries of the Board must obtain the Board’s permission.
9. PENALTIES FOR DEFAULTING CLUBS
The Board may deem a club to be a defaulting Club if:
9.1 It fails to comply with any rule of the bye-laws of the Board.
9.2 If after due notification, fails, neglects or refuses to respond to communication addressed to it by the Board.
9.3 Any of the being’s teams fail to conduct itself in a manner consistent with traditional Cricket standards.
9.4 In the opinion of the Board, the Club be declared a defaulting club.
9.5 The Board may penalize a defaulting Club by withholding from it, in whole or in part, any subsidy or provision of balls to which it would otherwise be entitled by virtue of its membership of the SWD Cricket Board or by deducting points, total or partial suspension.
10. CLUB MEMBERSHIP
A player will not be eligible to play for a club in any match unless he is a “bona fide” member of such club.
10.1 No player will be allowed to play for more than one club during a South African season without first obtaining a written release from his previous club and province and also with the approval of the Board.
10.2 No club will be entitled to admit as a player any person who has previously played for another club in any competition organized by the Board, without obtaining from such club a written release certificate to the effect that the player applying for permission is in good standing and not financially indebted to the club.
10.3 Any player wishing to transfer from one club to another during the season will make written application to the Board to do so and will enclose with his application a letter from his new club, with a clearance certificate of the old club attached.
Permission to transfer will be at the discretion of the Board and will only be granted under circumstances that the Board regards as valid.
10.4 No transfer will be valid until sanctioned by the Board.
10.5 If in the due course of the season a player transfers to a Club in the SWD Cricket Board from a club affiliated to another Province, clearance certificates from both his previous club and province must be lodged with the SWD Cricket Board. Such a player may represent the new club with effect from the date as authorized by the Board.
11. Player Conduct
Players and officials shall abide by the rules as set out in the "Code of
Behavior".
12. PLAYERS WHO WITHDRAW FROM PROVINCIAL TEAMS
12.1 Players who are not available for some multi-day representative matches, due to work commitments, will be allowed to play for their league teams in such instances. This is to be clarified in writing by the General Manager SWD Cricket Board.
12.2 Players who do not past any fitness test for a multi-day representative match, will be allowed to play for their league teams in such instances, unless the selectors specifically request the club to rest the player/s, in the interest of the SWD Cricket Board. This is to be clarified in writing by the General Manager SWD Cricket Board.
12.3 Players who are injured during representative matches will not be
allowed to be replaced in their club teams.
14. PLAYERS ELIGABLE
14.1 Any player who is a member of a club, Association or other body affiliated to the SWD Cricket Board is obliged to make himself available to play, unless otherwise agreed to by the SWD Cricket Board, in any representative game authorized, organized or promoted by Cricket South Africa and/or the SWD Cricket Board.
14.2 Should any player for any reason whatsoever be unavailable to play in any representative game on tour, official or friendly, authorized or arranged or promoted by Cricket South Africa and /or the SWD Cricket Board such players will not be permitted to participate in any other league or friendly game of whatsoever nature until the said game is completed.
15. PROMOTION AND DEMOTION OF PLAYERS
15.1 The promotion or demotion of players from one division to another will be made only for good cricketing reasons. It will be competent for any club to report to the Board any instances of promotion or demotion, which is considered to have been contrary to the spirit of this bye-law. The board may order ratification of such promotion or demotion, or the Board may order that the offending team will forfeit the match or impose any further penalties. Where a team has a bye, regular players (in other words players that represented the more senior (i.e. the A-team) in a representative match during the previous weekend or the day before (should such match be played on a Sunday) that team may not be selected for a lower team playing on that day.
15.2 In all divisions, if in any section there is more than one team from the same club, then Team “A” will be stronger than Team ‘B’ etc.
16. Responsibility of the Captains:
The captains are responsible at all times for ensuring that play is conducted within the spirit of the game as well as within the Laws. In this regard specific reference is made to the Code of Ethics and to the Code of Behaviour, both of which are addenda hereto.
The captains shall, before the toss in each match provide one another, in writing, with the names of the respective eleven selected to play in the match, and no alteration shall thereafter be made in either side without the consent of the opposing captain.
Captains or their representative teams shall meet with the official umpires at the completion of the game to table any comments relating to the game and shall complete the umpires report form. These meetings shall not exceed 15 minutes.
17. Submission of Results of Matches:
All clubs taking part in all competitions must ensure that the results of matches, on the prescribed result card, reach the office of Boland Cricket Board as soon as possible after completion of the matches concerned, but in any event, not later than the MONDAY AT 16:00 following upon the completion of such matches. Results may be faxed to the Board (Fax. 044- 272 6294). Defaulting clubs will be liable to a fine as authorized by the Executive Committee of R50 per outstanding result card.
18. Appointment of Umpires:
The appointment of Umpires under the SWD Cricket Board’s jurisdiction will vest in the SWD Cricket Umpires Association. In the event of no appointed official Umpire, then each club must provide an Umpire. If both Umpires fail to attend, the Captains of the opposing teams shall mutually appoint the Umpire or Umpires as the case may be, i.e. where there is only one official Umpire, the batting captain shall appoint the other umpire and where there are no official umpires, the captains shall appoint both umpires. No objection may be raised after play has been commenced.
In the event of only one official Umpire reporting for duty at any particular match, neither captain shall have the right to demand that such official Umpire must officiate at both ends from which the bowlers will be bowling, but should the official Umpire, in response to a request by either captain, consent to officiate in this particular manner, both captains must, nevertheless, signify acceptance of such action by the Umpire prior to the commencement of the match.
The captains shall report the absence of the appointed official Umpire(s) on the card and on receipt of such card the General Manager of the Board shall report such absence to the Executive of the SWD Cricket Umpires Association for further action.
19. Duties of the Umpire:
The MCC Laws of Cricket, (2000 Code Second Edition 2003), shall apply.
In addition, the Umpires shall satisfy themselves that the wickets are properly pitched and that the pitch is correctly marked. Shall the pitch be found to be incorrectly marked, it shall be at their discretion as to whether or not to instruct the Executive of the ground to re-mark the pitch correctly. The umpires will be the final judges of the fitness of the ground, weather and light of play.
The umpires will suspend, or continue to suspend play for bad light when they consider that there is a risk of serious physical injury to the batsman. Amongst the facts to be considered are backgrounds, sightscreens and the type of bowling. Before deciding to suspend play, or not to resume play after an interval on account of bad light (but for no other reason), the Umpires will establish whether the captain of the batting team (the batsmen at the wicket may deputize for their captain) wishes to continue in unfit conditions; if so, his wishes will be met.
Note: The umpires will disregard any shadow on the pitch from the stadium or any permanent object on the ground.
After any suspension or play, the umpires, unaccompanied by any of the players of officials will on their own initiative, carry out an inspection immediately the conditions improve and will continue to inspect at intervals. Whenever the umpires decide that play is possible they will call upon the players to resume the match.
19. 1 If there is only one official umpire present, he will at all times officiate at the bowler’s end.
19.2. If there is a disagreement between an official umpire and a player umpire, the ruling of the official umpire will and will stand. This especially so when it is wet or dark. The official umpire, however, has no right to overrule the decision of a player umpire as to whether a batsman is out or not out.
19.3. A player umpire may consult an official umpire as to the laws or bye laws before giving a decision.
19.4. The umpires will not take the field until the captains have fulfilled their responsibility to exchange team lists and hand them to the umpires or captains, as the case may be.
19.5. The umpires or captains, as the case may be, will report to the Board on all matches where the start or continuation of play has been unreasonably delayed.
19.7. No swearing, dissent; direct abusive language, bringing the game into disrepute, on or off the field, will not be tolerated by the Board. One warning by the umpire will be given, if the umpire deems necessary.
19.8. The Umpires are expected to tighten up on starting times and take steps to see that outgoing and incoming batsmen cross on the field of play. In view of the additional onus on the umpires in this respect, the captain of the batting side will cooperate by ensuring that his players comply with this provision. His failure to do so could result in action being taken against him and his team by the Board.
20. Participation in Representative Matches
In the event of a player being selected to play in a provincial match, irrespective of the nature thereof, including the 12th man, and he being unable to participate in such a match for whatever reason, such player shall be debarred from participating in any other cricket match for the scheduled duration of the provincial match for which he was selected without the approval of the Executive.
However, should the said provincial match finish the day before the start of the scheduled club fixture, the provincial players participating in such a provincial match may participate in their club fixture.
Any transgression of this Bye-law will be regarded in a serious light and the club defaulting in this respect by allowing such a player to play for such club side, shall forfeit any points to which the side may be entitled.
21. PROVINCIAL CLOTHING
No player will be permitted to wear any provincial SWD clothing (helmet, hat, cap, pull-over, T-Shirt, Playing Shirt, Track Suits, Shorts) during any representative club fixtures played under the auspices of the SWDCB.
Guidelines for all Clubs under the jurisdiction of the BCB
(Compulsory for Premier League and Country League)
ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES FROM CLUBS
1. Change rooms
1.1 All change rooms must be clean and in a healthy, respectable and neat condition, particularly the toilet areas. Toilet paper should be provided and soap at least at the washbasins.
1.2 It is also desirable that hot water be available in the shower areas.
1.3 Please note that visiting teams are expected to respect the property of other clubs and not leave the change rooms in a disorderly or unclean condition.
2. The Preparing of the Pitch
2.1 It is imperative that all pitches are prepared in the best interests of the game of cricket and are not doctored in any way.
2.2 All Premier league clubs should be in possession of decent covers. The covers should be of an acceptable size to cover the playing area and at least the bowlers' delivery stride area.
2.3 Suitable poles or weights should be placed on the covers to prevent the covers from blowing off in the event of a storm.
2.4 All pitches should be covered from at least 36 hours prior to the game to be played over the weekend.
2.5 On the morning of the game (if not raining) the covers should be removed 2 hours before the start of play.
2.6 The markings of the creases should be as laid down in the Laws of Cricket 2000 Code (Second Edition 2003) with the exception of the popping crease and the side lines which should be extended a minimum of 1,83m on either side for the middle stump and the return crease shall be marked a minimum of 1,22m from the bowling crease backwards.
2.7 The pitch should be fit for play an hour before the start of play.
2.8 In the event of weather causing a delay in the start of play every effort must be made by the home club to get the pitch ready for play.
2.9 All clubs should have the necessary equipment on hand, namely:
A suitable roller
Sawdust
Brooms
2.10 All markings should be as laid down in the Laws of Cricket.
2.11 It is important that the bowlers' danger area be marked just off the pitch.
2.12 All lines should be re-marked at the lunch break, teatime and change of innings. All loose gravel and stones should be swept away.
2.13 Should any club deliberately doctor or appear to have blatantly doctored the pitch in any way the opposing club should make suitable representation to the SWD Cricket Board who will take the necessary action.
2.14 No excuse whatsoever will be accepted from clubs who have deliberately not prepared a pitch because of the unavailability of their groundsman.
2.15 In the event of the pitch being wet at the start of play, the decision as to whether the teams play or not must be left in the hands of the Umpires who should not be "conned" in any way. The Umpire's decision will be final unless the captains of both teams decide otherwise.
2.16 In the event of rain during a game (where no groundsmen are available) the home team should make every effort to get the covers on as quickly as possible.
3. The Field
3.1 All boundaries should be clearly marked either by rope, white painted bricks or any type of picket.
3.2 Suitable sightscreens should be available at all grounds, and painted white.
3.3 It is vital that a scoreboard be available and kept in operation for the duration of the game.
3.4 Sides are to provide their own scorers where official scorers are not officiating.
3.5 The outfield should be kept short, i.e. grass should be 25 mm long and cut regularly.
3.6 The boundary fieldsmen should assist the umpire in signaling when the ball crosses the boundary.
4. Security
While clubs do not accept responsibility for the loss of valuables, some effort must be made by clubs to ensure the safety of cricket equipment. It is suggested that the fielding side change room be locked while they are on the field of play.
5. Umpires
The home club must provide adequate facilities for the Umpires. Providing of a proper meal and drinks are compulsory and good manners.
6. Scorers
The home club must provide adequate facilities for the Scorers. Providing of a proper
meal and drinks are compulsory and good manners.
