Misdemeanours and Breaches

BBC Sport 12/06/18
ten Doeschate two game ban

Essex captain Ryan ten Doeschate has been suspended for their next two games by the England and Wales Cricket Board after repeated disciplinary breaches.

The 37-year-old's latest incident came in this week's win over Lancashire.

The Netherlands international breached Level 1 of the ECB's directives.

It relates to "wilfully mistreating any part of a cricket ground, equipment or implements used in the match" and "using language that is obscene, offensive or insulting".

Ten Doeschate was reported by umpires Jeremy Lloyds and Steve O'Shaughnessy during the match at Old Trafford.

• One-Day Cup: Essex beat Sussex by four wickets at Eastbourne

June's breach took him to nine penalty points, prompting an automatic ban, which means he will miss Essex's One-Day Cup play-off against Yorkshire on Thursday, 14 June.

He will then be absent for their One-Day Cup semi-final on Monday, 18 June, if his side qualifies.

If Essex fail to progress in the cup he will instead have to sit out their County Championship match against Nottinghamshire, which starts on Wednesday, 20 June.

England Under-19 captain Harry Brook dropped for disciplinary reasons

BBC Sport 30/01/18

England Under-19 captain Harry Brook missed the last match of their youth World Cup campaign after being dropped for one match for disciplinary reasons.

The England and Wales Cricket Board said Brook, 18, was withdrawn after a "breach of team discipline" and has been given a written warning.

The issue is not alcohol-related and no further sanction will be applied.

It follows recent incidents involving the men's senior team, including Ben Stokes being charged with affray.

Wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow was criticised for an alleged headbutt on Australia's Cameron Bancroft during the Ashes series, while batsman Ben Duckett was suspended from England Lions' tour of Australia after pouring a drink over England bowler James Anderson in a Perth bar.

In Brook's absence England won the match against New Zealand, a seventh-place play-off, by 32 runs.



Batsman Brook made his first-class debut for Yorkshire in 2016 and hit 102 not out for England Under-19s against Bangladesh earlier in the World Cup.

Batsman's ball pick up leads to ‘Obstructing the Field’ dismissal.

Cricinfo.

Wednesday, 17 January 2018.

PTG 2320-11722.

South Africa Under-19 opener Jiveshan Pillay was given out Obstructing the Field in his side's World Cup Group A fixture against the West Indies in Mount Maunganui on Wednesday after he picked up the ball without the permission of the fielding side.  Emmanuel Stewart, the West Indies captain and wicketkeeper, appealed after Pillay, who nearly chopped on, picked up the ball close to the off stump after it became stationary.

Third umpire Ranmore Martinesz of Sri Lanka was called in by on-field umpires Ahsan Raza of Pakistan and Langton Rusere from Zimbabwe and, after a long wait and a number of replays, the decision went in the West Indies' favour . The incident occurred in the 17th over of South Africa's innings when they were 2/77.

Once the decision was referred to the TV umpire, it was going to be difficult to give the batsman not out unless Stewart and West Indies withdrew the appeal. Law 37.4, which deals with 'returning the ball to a fielder', states: "Either batsman is out obstructing the field if, at any time while the ball is in play and, without the consent of a fielder, he/she uses the bat or any part of his/her person to return the ball to any fielder”.

South Africa Under-19 coach Laurence Mahatlane was measured in his reaction during the innings break. "Our take is very simple: we play to the laws of the game and it's part of the laws”, he said. "It's happened and hopefully we'll learn for a long time from it”.

CWI fines three for disciplinary offences.

PTG Editor.

Wednesday, 22 November 2017.

PTG 2309-11665.

Leeward Islands pair of Nkrumah Bonner and Terence Warde and Barbados batsman Jonathan Carter have all been fined for disciplinary breaches during the fourth round of matches in Cricket West Indies’ (CWI) domestic first class competition which ended on Sunday.  As a result of their actions, both Bonner and Carter each lost half their match fees and Rawlines ten per cent, all three admitting to their guilt and accepting the sanctions proposed.

Bonner and Warde were reported by on-field umpires Carl Tuckett and Leslie Reifer, Jr, along with reserve umpire Bernard Joseph, for Level One breaches of the Code of Conduct during the match between the Leewards and Jamaica at Warner Park in Basseterre, St. Kitts.  Bonner’s offence, which involved him showing his bat after being adjudged LBW in his side's first innings. was upgraded to Level Two as it was his second breach within a year (PTG 2057-10417, 23 February 2017), and as a result match referee Stewart Rawlins imposed the 50 per cent fine.  Rawlins’s offence also involved showing his bat on being given out LBW.

Carter was reported by on-field umpires Deighton Butler and Verdayne Smith, along with reserve umpire Roger Davis, for the Level One breach of "using language that was obscene, offensive or insulting” towards Windward Island off-spinner Shane Shillingford when leaving the field following his dismissal in his side’s second innings.

Fourth Plunket Shield player sanctioned for on-field action.

PTG Editor

Tuesday, 21 November 2017.

PTG 2307-11655.

New Zealand Test opener Tom Latham has been fined $NZ200 ($A180, £UK103) for showing dissent and swearing loudly after being dismissed whilst playing for Canterbury in a Plunket Shield first class game at the Basin Reserve last Thursday.  Latham was cited by umpires ‘Billy' Bowden and Garth Stirrat for his actions after Stirrat gave him out caught behind, the batsman making it clear he was unimpressed with the decision.  

Stirrat, who was standing in his second first class game (PTG 2076-10513, 15 March 2017), replaced South African exchange umpire Siphelele Gasa whose visit was curtailed before it began for personal reasons.

Latham’s is the fourth disciplinary case in the twelve Plunket games played so far this austral summer.  Late last month his NZ team mate Neil Wagner was fined $NZ560 ($A505, £UK295) for  "conduct that is either contrary to the spirit of the game, or brings the game into disrepute” whilst playing for Otago in another Plunket fixture, his offence being that he dislodged the bails at the bowler’s end with his bat after being dismissed in Otago’s first innings.  

Wagner’s team mate Hamish Rutherford received “a written sanction” in  the same match for his actions, while another match saw Auckland fast bowler Lockie Ferguson fined $NZ100 ($A90, £UK52.80) for "shouting an obscene word which was clearly audible outside the playing area” (PTG 2297-11608, 6 November 2017).

Language outburst results in reprimand.

PTG Editor.

Friday, 17 November 2017.

PTG 2304-11639.

Trinidad and Tobago batsman Yannic Cariah has been reprimanded for "using language that was obscene, offensive or insulting", when he yelled an expletive after being dismissed in his side’s Cricket West Indies (CWI) ‘domestic’ first class match against the Windward Islands in Port of Spain last week.  He was reported by on-field umpires Danesh Ramdhanie and Gregory Brathwaite, along with reserve umpire Kellman Kowlessar, for a Level One breach of CWI's Code of Conduct.  Cariah admitted to the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Michael Ragoonath, therefore there was no need for a formal hearing into the matter.

Captain, keeper suspended over on-field incidents.

PTG Editor

Wednesday, 15 November 2017.

PTG 2303-11636.

Northern Victoria's Cricket Shepparton has suspended Ramadan Yze, the captain of the Central Park-St Brendan’s Cricket Club (CPSBCC), for three matches, and his wicketkeeper Jack McCarten for one, as a result of incidents that occurred in a match against Tatura two Saturday’s ago.  Umpires Russell Baldi and Gary Wood cited Yze for a number of offences, a "bad record" not helping his cause at the tribunal, while McCarten was reported twice on Level One dissent charges.

Cricket Shepparton’s director of senior cricket Michael Van Dorsser indicated Yze was reported "on multiple Level One and Two offences, and he had a [previous report] hanging over his head from last year’s one-day final, so his first Level One offence automatically drew a one-game suspension”.  He had three counts against him of not being able to control his team as captain, which Cricket Shepparton has counted as one offence, while local media reports allege he also "attempted to elbow an opponent”.

In addition to Yze and McCarten, their CPSBCC team mate, 250-game veteran Brendan Scott, was reprimanded for dissent and will have to remain on his best behaviour for the remainder of the season if he is to avoid suspension.  A media report also indicates a "mediation session”, that was to be run by Cricket Shepparton, was scheduled to be held between the club and umpire Baldi last Saturday "to discuss [the previous] weekend’s incidents”.  No details of the outcome of those discussions have been made public.

Van Dorsser is reported to have indicated he expects more player reports to occur, but encouraged all involved to focus on what they could control in the game.  ‘‘The umpires make a decision one way or another and sometimes players don’t like or agree with that decision”, he said.  ‘‘But umpires are there to control the game and make decisions on what they see, so people need to live with those decisions and move on”.

Fines, ‘written censure’, for Plunket misdemeanours.

PTG Editor.

Sunday, 5 November 2017.

PTG 2297-11608.

Three players, two from Otago and one from Auckland, were cited for a range of offences that occurred during the latest round of New Zealand Cricket’s (NZC) Plunket Shield last week.   Otago pace bowler Neil Wagner was fined $NZ560 ($A505, £UK295), around a third of this match fee, for a Level Two Code of Conduct breach in the game against Wellington, his team mate Hamish Rutherford received “a written sanction” for a Level One offence, while Auckland fast bowler Lockie Ferguson was fined $NZ100 ($A90, £UK52.80) also for a Level One breach when playing against Central Districts.

Wagner was found to have engaged in "conduct that is either contrary to the spirit of the game, or brings the game into disrepute”, Rutherford for "dislodging the bails at the bowler’s end with his bat, after being dismissed in Otago’s first innings”, and Ferguson for "shouting an obscene word which was clearly audible outside the playing area".

NZC Code of Conduct commissioner Andrew Gilchrist held a phone hearing into the Wagner incident the day after it occurred, noting that the Otago bowler "accepted the allegations, showed regret and had apologised to umpires [Ashley Mehrotra and Derek Walker and [Wellington batsman Olly] Newton” to whom he was bowling.  Gilchrist said, “having viewed the video, and heard the player’s frank acknowledgements, I believe this offending was at the lowest end of a Level Two offence”.  The exact nature of the offence was not detailed.

Ferguson was reported by umpires Chris Brown and Wayne Knights for his outburst which NZC says "was not directed at any player” and that it "occurred after the batsman edged a ball between the wicket-keeper and slip.  Mehrotra and Walker reported Rutherford for his offence.

Captain, manager, censured over team sheet breach.

Daily Star.

Monday, 6 November 2017.

PTG 2297-11609.

Sylhet Sixers captain Nasir Hossain and manager Hasibul Hossain have been found to have breached the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s Code of Conduct because of their “failure to submit their team sheet properly", in their opening Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 match of this year’s series against Dhaka Dynamites at Sylhet International Cricket stadium on Saturday.

The toss had to be delayed by six minutes because of the issue and the two men were subsequently cited for a Level One offence by on-field umpires Masudur Rahman Mukul and Riazuddin, the latter a Pakistani umpire, third umpire Tanvir Ahmed and fourth umpire Aktaruzzaman.  Both Nasir and Hasibul accepted the charges and thus match referee Debabrata Paul did not need to convene a formal hearing.  As a result they both were given one demerit point to their disciplinary record. Anyone who accumulates four demerit points during the tournament is automatically suspended for one game.

Jamaican fined for show of dissent on debut.

PTG Editor

Thursday, 2 November 2017.

PTG 2294-11599.

Jamaican opener Garth Garvey has been fined ten per cent of his match fee for showing dissent after being given out in his side’s Cricket West Indies ‘domestic' first class match against Guyana on the weekend. Garvey delayed his departure after being adjudged LBW off the only delivery he faced in his side’s first innings in a game that was his debut at first class level, a milestone that came on his birthday.

Garvey, 27, was reported by on-field umpires Nigel Duguid and Danesh Ramdhanie, along with reserve umpire Nandkumar Shivsankar for the Level One offence at Guyana's National Stadium.  Match referee Colin Stuart imposed the fine, Garvey admitted to the offence and accepted the sanction proposed, so there was no need for a formal hearing.

Non-striker reprimanded for dissent.

PTG Editor.

Monday, 30 October 2017.

PTG 2293-11593.

Western Australia’s Ashton Turner has been reprimanded for showing dissent at an umpire’s decision during his side’s Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania in Perth last Saturday.  Cricket Australia has indicated that the offence occurred when his team mate Hilton Cartwright was given out LBW by umpire Paul Wilson in the side’s second innings.  Turner can be seen on video turning sharply toward Wilson after the decision was made but what, if anything, was said, is not clear.  Match referee Steve Bernard considered the report from Wilson and his colleague Gerard Abood, and proposed a sanction of a reprimand.  Turner admitted the offence and accepted the sanction therefore no hearing was required. 

WA state second XI player found guilty of ’dissent’.

PTG Editor.

Friday, 27 October 2017.

PTG 2290-11581.

Cricket Australia (CA) announced on Friday that Western Australia’s Nick Hobson had been reprimanded for showing dissent at an umpiring decision during his side’s state second XI match against Tasmania in Perth nearly two weeks ago.  Hobson was reported by umpires, local James Hewitt and David Taylor of Queensland, for an offence that occurred when he was dismissed during his side's first innings, score sheets showing he was given out LBW.  

CA, which does not give any details of the precise nature of the dissent, says match Referee Terry Prue considered the report from Hewitt and Taylor and proposed a sanction of a reprimand.  Hobson admitted the offence and accepted the sanction, therefore no hearing was required.

Fourteen umpires, four from CA’s second-tier Development Panel (DP), Darren Close, Donovan Koch, Nathan Johnstone and Taylor, and another ten from ‘state' panels in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australias, plus fourteen scorers and six match referees, have been appointed to manage the first nine games of the second XI season up until the end of November.  

Taylor has in addition to the Perth game also another closer to home on the Gold Coast, Tasmania's Close one in Melbourne, Johnstone was flown from Perth to a game in Adelaide, and Koch has a game on Queensland’s Gold Coast that is to be played the week before his first class debut at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (PTG 2280-11538, 19 October 2017).

Another who will travel interstate for games is Troy Penman of NSW who has been allocated second XI matches in Canberra, Perth and at home in Sydney.  His NSW state umpire colleague Marc Nickl has one game in Sydney, Perth-based Hewitt and Trent Steenboldt each a single game in that city, South Australians Luke Uthenwoldt and Craig Thomas two and one games each in Adelaide respectively, and Victorians Daryl Brigham, Stephen Brne and Dale Ireland all one game at home.  Penman’s on-field colleague in Canberra was former CA Umpires Manager Andrew Scotford (PTG 919-4480, 23 March 2012).

Six of the nine members of CA’s second-tier referees’ Supplementary Panel have been assigned matches: Prue in Perth, John Biddies in Adelaide, Kent Hannam in Canberra and Melbourne, Ian Thomas on the Gold Coast, Tim Donahoo in Sydney and Damian Herft in Melbourne.  The scorers are: in Adelaide David Billett and John Tregloan; Canberra Rammanee Shivakkumar and M Frost; Perth Lance Catchpole and Sandy Wheeler; Melbourne Glenn Davey, Jim Hamilton, Jim Higgs and Craig Reece; Sydney Cheryl Brain and Geoff Rogers; and on the Gold Coast Cliff Howard and Ted Williams.

Dan Christian called wide of expected behaviour

Bowler fined half his match fee for ‘serious' dissent.

PTG Editor.

Friday, 20 October 2017.

PTG 2283-11549.

Victorian bowler Dan Christian lost half his match fee for the Cricket Australia (CA) one-day domestic series elimination final match against South Australia on Thursday in Hobart because of a show of ‘serious dissent’ at an umpire’s decision.  The 34-year-old was charged with a Level Two disciplinary offence after he openly questioned umpire Sam Nogsjski’s call that one of his deliveries was a wide.

Christian was bowling what would have been the final ball of his tenth over final over in the match, and after the call of wide he became visibly upset and immediately questioned it while standing in the middle of the pitch.  Match referee Steve Bernard later considered the report from Nogajski and his colleague Gerard Abood and proposed a fine of 50 per cent for the all-rounder.  He admitted the offence and accepted that sanction. As it was his first offence in the past 18 months no hearing was required.