Devon Cricket Board - Paignton trio suspended

Paignton trio suspended

DEVON Cricket League bosses are hoping the bans handed out to three Paignton players will make other players thing about their behaviour out on the pitch.

The Paignton trio – George Benton, George Yates and skipper Connor Bryan - have been banned for a combined total of five weeks after being reported for their behaviour during a match against Budleigh Salterton.

The umpires lodged complaints against the three players under the league’s code of conduct and Spirit of Cricket guidelines.

Benton was banned for showing dissent to an umpire and the use of bad language. He was suspended for two weeks .

Yates was suspended for one week having admitted using bad language on the field. He was banned for one week.

Captain Byran was charged under the regulations relating to unfair play and handed a two-week ban.

Paignton have had six points deducted as a further penalty. The suspensions apply to all cricket played under the auspices of the ECB.

Stuart Munday, the league chairman, said reports reaching him suggested standards of behaviour are declining and if clubs won’t do something about it the league will.

“Responsibility for how players conduct themselves lies with the clubs,” said Munday/

“Chairman should be saying to captains it is their job to cut out the nonsense on the pitch – and if that means going in the dressing room half an hour before a match to get the message across so be it.

“Players should be looking at the bans given to the Paignton players and be saying to themselves ‘we don’t want that happening to us’.

“The majority of games pass off without any sort of incident at all, but you will never stop it completely so talk of zero tolerance is nonsense.

“What we are saying is there is too much dissent, bad language and childish behaviour coming into our great game and it has to stop.”

Munday said one thing to emerge from the hearing was the need for umpires to attend in person.

“The rules don’t demand umpires to turn up, only that it is desirable if they do,” said Munday.

“In this instance there was some dispute over some of the facts and it makes it difficult to decide what went on when one of the parties is not there.

“We will be looking to bring in a new rule that umpires have to attend in future.”

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