OXFORDSHIRE CRICKET ASSOCIATION
Nick Treweeke (Chairman) (NT)
Minutes of Executive Meeting –Monday 11th July 2016at 7.30 pm
Venue: Kidlington Cricket Club – Stratfield Brake Sports Club – Kidlington
Present:
Brian Standish (Chairman) (BS), Colin Olliffe (Gen’ Secretary) (CO), Peter Baring (PB), Paul Duester (PD), Colin Mercer (CM),Simon Morse (SM),Ivan Mulford (IM), Steve Oliver (SO), Chris Probert (CP), David Quinn (DQ), Ian Royle (IR) and Peter Whitlock ,
Apologies:
Nick Wilks and Sam Willett had offered their apologies for not being able to attend the meeting.
2. Minutes of Meeting22nd June2016
One item was noted as incorrectly minuted: 4.9 should read : Permission requests - "There had been 80 requests in total and 74 allowed including 42 cup requests all but 4 of which were allowed"
The minutes having been read were then approved and signed by theChairman.
3. Matters arising from the above minutes:
a) Joint meeting with OCA/Cherwell – the way forward...see under (1) below
b) Speaker for the November Presentation evening update…. see under (2)
c) Webmaster situation and response from AW…see under (3) below
d) Pullinger Cup proposal….see under (4) below
e) Grant to Tetsworth CC. …see under (5) below
f) Rule for clubs wishing to withdraw teams. ..see under (6) below
1. Joint meeting with the OCA/Cherwell – The way forward?:
BS advised the committee that he was very surprised with the outcome of the ‘joint meeting’ when it was decided that discussions for a merger between the two leagues should be taken forward to a meeting of the clubs. He pointed out that the ‘good points’ of the OCA should not be lost – e.g. Umpiring and Ground standards, something which is unique to the OCA. DQ (not at this meeting) queried the merger and the Chairman confirmed that nothing had been agreed, this was a process going forward to the clubs to ‘test the water’ as to whether it will be worth continuing discussions with the Cherwell League. The meeting of the clubs had been arranged (at short notice) for Wednesday 13th July at 7.30 pm, the venue to be The King’s Centre – Osney Mead – Oxford. The panel will consist of Clive Ricks and David Beck from the Cherwell and Brian Standish and Ian Royle from the OCA ,with a power point presentation will be shown prior to a Q & A session. Colin Olliffe will take the minutes. Ivan Mulford and Colin Mercer volunteered to pass around the ‘roving’ microphone.
The cost of venue hire is currently being negotiated with the OCB. There will be no formal vote on the evening, but an emailed voting form will be sent to all clubs immediately after the meeting with a deadline to gauge the feelings of the clubs in general. If voted to continue discussions, the Executive will start to circulate clubs with questions and proposals, maybe an EGM will be necessary to forward the process?
Meeting with the 8 Leagues at High Wycombe – BS and IR attended this meeting on Wednesday 6th July when 6 of the 8 leagues were present and this proved to be a more positive meeting and less of their ‘own agenda’ by certain ones, so some movement was evident, and the possibility of other clubs, currently not part of the leagues will be allowed to join. There is also the question whether some areas are too big, and may have to be reduced in size? It had been agreed that any changes would now be deferred to 2019 – maybe the committee are waiting to see what happens with the OCA/Cherwell situation?
2. Speaker for the November Presentation evening update:
PB confirmed that Graham Pollock would be attending the dinner as our guest speaker, arriving on the Friday morning to be collected by PB, staying with him overnight after the dinner. It was agreed the ceiling cost would be no more than £2k, as the cost of flights was still an unknown quantity. SO was concerned about the rising costs of the dinner, and it was agreed that the cost of tickets may have to reflect this. It is now time to start advertising the dinner and to encourage clubs to make a commitment. (Action PB/CO)
3. Webmaster situation and response from AW:
CO advised the committee that he had advised Britwell CC that although the committee vote was for them to continue in Division 5, they were at liberty to appeal, despite the appeal period being over. He had also written to AW as agreed, but had heard nothing on both counts.
4. Pullinger 20-20 Cup proposal:
DQ advised that although this may have to be scaled down it should be kept going into next season. Any changes should be discussed by a sub-committee which DQ agreed to lead and currently CP is on this committee, DQ to co-opt others to help if required.(Action DQ)
5. Grant to Tetsworth C.C.:
CO advised that during the past week he had received a letter and invoice from Tetsworth C.C. confirming that they had purchased 3 no. mowers from a cricket club for £550.00 and asked for a grant towards this. It had previously been agreed by the Grants Committee to allow a grant for £225.00 and this was agreed by the Executive. The Treasurer will forward a cheque to Tetsworth CC shortly.(Action SO)
6. Rule for clubs wishing to withdraw teams:
DQ asked for a rule to be added to the handbook for teams who are considering dis-banding during the season to be told they have to wait for the next Executive meeting for a decision, to overcome the problems experienced in the Britwell situation. Although rule 23a partially covers this, it was agreed that the ‘Rules Committee’ should look at this and add to the current rule.(Action Rules Committee)
4. Correspondence:
The General Secretary advised the Executive that he had written to the Hailey Chairman, enclosing an explanation of the OCA alcohol rule and had received a written assurance that the Hailey match reports will be kept to ‘just cricket’ and not remarks about drinking and generally making fun ‘of the rule’ in question, this was on the 26 June 2016.
However, on the match report for the 9 July they again made comment to the rule with a ‘silly aside’, clearly going totally against the request from the OCA Executive.
The General Secretaryhad again written to the Hailey Chairman stating disappointment for their captain’s actions, despite having been asked to refrain from making comments of this nature.
Whilst the committee agreed the comments of the OCA President were personal and nothing to do with the Executive, it was agreed that in this instance Hailey had gone too far, and the matter should be referred to the Disciplinary Panel. IR will take the appropriate action after contacting Hailey C.C. In the meantime, it was agreed to 1) to remove the comment from the report and 2) close the thread on the Forum with immediate effect.(Action IR)
5. Treasurer’s report:
The Treasurer advised that the OCA bank balance stands at £12,610 with most of the larger bills paid. The Pullinger Cup trophies are ordered and will be ready for collection this week. DQ offered to collect them if necessary?
Fourteen clubs had contributed to the ‘Nick Treweeke’ fund, which currently stands at £390.00 and a final message will be added to the website to advise clubs who wish to donate that they can still do this for a week or so. CO will speak to a member of Wolvercote CC regarding a suitable gift.(Action CO)
SO was also concerned regarding the ‘time scale’ for the return of trophies as he will be going on holiday and then back to work, so may not be at home to accept them. It was agreed that Penny Oliver (if at home) could receive them, otherwise BS, CO or PB are happy to cover this, but living near to SO, perhaps PB would be the best person to contact. Message to be put on website: (Action CO)
6. Disciplinary:
IR reported on the following outstanding matters:
Faringdon v Shrivenham: Not enough evidence to support complaint of a racist nature:
Marcham v S/Harcourt: 2 no. S.H. players received bans: 1 x 4 match and 1 x 3 match.
Clifton Hampden v E & W Hendred: Not enough evidence to take things forward.
In all the above cases, the umpires and clubs have been advised of the outcome, and it was agreed that where there are bans issued against players, these (as last season) would be listed on the website.(Action IR)
In the case of Hailey, following what was reported by the General Secretary, this will now be investigated by the Disciplinary Panel. (Action IR)
7. Fixtures:
DQ advised that concessions seemed to be slowing down as we get further into the season and to date there had been a total of fourteen.
DQ reported a situation between Yarnton & Cowley/Stonesfield in Division 1, when Y & C advised DQ that Brasenose College ground was not available. DQ had given some leads for them to find a replacement ground, but nothing had been confirmed by Y & C by Friday evening. DQ was out on Friday evening until very late but picked up an email at 6.00 am Saturday morning to advise that the teams had agreed to re-arrange. This of course was a) out of time and b) no permission had been given by the OCA (DQ).
DQ wanted to know how the OCA should handle this, and there were only two options open to the committee:
Treat as a concession by Y & C with 30 points to Stonesfield, but no financial penalty OR a counter proposal by SO, seconded by IR to allow the game to be re-arranged. As this was likely to involve an appeal, BS left the room for a vote to be taken. The result of the vote was as follows: For the first proposal – 5 and the counter proposal – 4….DQ will write to Y & C and advise the outcome and award Stonesfield CC the 30 points.(Action DQ)
PW advised that due to Witney Swifts being allowed to postpone their two Saturday games on the 16th July (although they will play the cup game on the Sunday) it has caused an eligibility issue with other clubs. Following discussion, it was recognised that this was a very unusual situation and PW was asked to be lenient on player selection in this ONE instance. (Action PW)
8. Umpires:
DQ advised that he had lost two senior umpires for ‘personal reasons’. Mike Dix and Rod Russell and that some clubs with rota umpires were finding it difficult, through low player numbers. It has become very clear that the better umpires are the ones who have been on courses and keep abreast of any rule changes.
DQ advised on the umpires for the four major cup competition finals as follows:
Airey Cup - Kevin Giles and Dick Matthews
Telegraph Cup - Chris Pullen and Tim Anning
Steve Dixon Memorial - Derek Thatcher ad Melvin White
Osberton Radiators Cup - Duncan Collins and Nick Wilks
9. Cups:
Pullinger Cup – Taking place on Sunday 17th July at Kidlington CC, commencing with the semi-finals at 12.30, with the final scheduled for 3.45 pm. Umpires will be asked to decide on the M-o-M award, CO to contact Steve Prew of Garsington to ask him to present this. Keith Pullinger not available this year, so DQ will compere’ and BS (Chairman) will present the trophies. Teas as required will be provided by Kidlington C.C. – Clubs to pay.(Action CO/DQ)
All five cup competitions had reached the semi-final stage and there had been nine (9) concessions overall. PB confirmed that he would be available to cover all the cup competition finals except the Osberton Radiators Cup being hosted by Eynsham CC on the 7th August. DQ thought that he might to able to cover this for PB? The cricket balls for the finals (donated by Gordon Clack of Hawthorn Sports Agencies) had been passed to DQ & PB. CO agreed to produce the programmes for the four cup finals. PB advised that Patrick Boyd-Maunsell was available to present the trophy at the Airey Cup final, being hosted by Great Horwood.(Action DQ/CO)
The OCA v Cherwell Challenge Cup is on the 21st August 2016, being hosted by the Cherwell League and played at Horspath CC. The OCA will need to provide one umpire and SW is currently organising the OCA team and should have a full squad by the end of July. (Action DQ/SW)
The Chairman asked for the support of the Executive members at these Cup Final games. (Action The Executive members)
10. Registrations
PW advised that since the last meeting he had dealt with 48 matters (258 for the season) & 235 emails / phone calls etc. (1,385 for the season). New players registered 55 (304 since the start of the season). Total players currently registered and approved to play 2,426.
There had been no further penalties issued for ineligible players in either the cup or league games and PW was currently checking the semi-final lists of players. PW mentioned that Sam Jones of Eynsham had requested to play through the ‘player pool’, and that he had spoken with him to explain why he would not allow this to happen.
11. Grounds and Facilities:
IM advised that these had been no further comment from Shrivenham but that the reports from umpires and clubs contradicted one another, and maybe there was a need for ‘Executive umpires’ to attend a game to get a better picture of the situation?(Action DQ)
SM asked for feedback from the umpires standing at the Yarnton ground, as this would have a bearing as to whether the first teams can play there in 2017.(Action DQ)
Simon was also pleased to have clubs contacting him for information, all very positive. IM suggested that we should be mindful of reports, as it has been a very wet start to the season, often meaning that grounds cannot be fully prepared in time for the game.
The suggestion was made that perhaps it would be best for umpires to do the ‘pitch report’, but we would need a better report form for this to happen? (Action iR)
Facilities – Nick Wilks away so no report. Good news is that Kidlington have repaired the sight screens and have painted the ‘lower section’….(Thanks to CP)
12. Grants:
Covered in matters arising (5)
13. Website and Results:
DQ and NW will continue to monitor the website and NW continues to deal with results and regularly following up clubs with warnings as appropriate.
14. Diary dates:
List being updated monthly….
Reports:
15. Player Liaison Officer:
Nothing to report.
16. Forum and Social Media:
Nothing to add to what had already been discussed.
17. Any Other Business:
- SO advised that clubs who had received a fine with £0, did not need to send the form to him, but those who had a fine to pay, should do so, and often DO NOT, maybe because they feel peeved for having been fined?
- IR advised that the ECB were in ‘turmoil’, having fired twelve (12) staff and were having to re-structure their administration – will this impact down the line…who knows..it’s the ECB we are talking about!!
18. Date of next meeting(s):
Joint meeting of the OCA/Cherwell Clubs will be on Wednesday 13th July at 7.30 pm
Venue: The King’s Centre, Osney Mead, Oxford.
Next meeting of the OCA Executive will be held on Monday 8th August 2016 at 7.30 pm
To be held at Kidlington C.C. (By kind permission)
Meeting closed 9.35 pm Minutes completed and circulated: 13.07.2016
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