CDC penalises Yorkshire CCC over player's bat-size breach in Second XI Trophy match

Yorkshire CCC have been deducted 1 point in the Second XI Trophy with a further suspended penalty of half the available match points in any competition following a Cricket Discipline Commission hearing yesterday.

The club pleaded guilty to a charge that in a Second XI Trophy match between Yorkshire and Durham earlier this month one of their players, Tom Loten, used a bat which did not meet the requirements of Law 5 of The Laws of Cricket 2017 Code relating to bat sizes.

The decision was made after the Disciplinary Panel heard the player’s bat had failed an in-game bat check by the umpires on the day of the match.

The suspended penalty will be applied if any Yorkshire player is in breach of this law in any competition within 12 months from the date of the hearing in addition to any sanction imposed for the proven subsequent offence.

Tom Loten was not charged individually in this case as he is not a registered cricketer, though eligible to play 2^nd XI cricket.

In reaching their decision the Panel, which was chaired by Tim O’Gorman with Mark Milliken Smith QC and Mike Smith, noted that breaches of this law are very serious offences and this had been made clear to all First-Class Counties since the instigation of the Law.

However, they took into account Yorkshire’s guilty pleas and that Yorkshire had made efforts to ensure their players complied with the new law but on this occasion had not checked this player’s bat prior to this match, against a background of a late call-up in light of an injury to another player.

The Panel wishes to re-iterate the importance of Counties ensuring that all players’ bats are compliant at all times, with particular care being needed for those called up late to a match.

No financial penalty was imposed as the Panel recognised the efforts that Yorkshire had made, but they noted that in future cases a financial penalty in addition to points deduction may be appropriate where circumstances dictate.

No order for costs was made.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1. The Laws of Cricket 2017 Code came into effect on 1^st October 2017 and have been integrated into the Regulations and Playing Conditions across 1^st XI, 2^nd XI and Kia Super League cricket for the first time this season.
2. Under Law 5.7, the blade of the bat shall not exceed the following dimensions: -

• Width: 4.25 in / 10.8cm
• Depth: 2.64 in / 6.7cm
• Edges: 1.56 in / 4.0cm

  Furthermore, it should also be able to pass through a bat gauge as described by MCC. The bat gauge is manufactured fractionally larger than the permitted size of the bat, to allow for permitted covering, such as an anti-scuff front. The gauge allows for the traditional slightly curved face of a bat resulting from the pressing process

3.    ECB Umpires are equipped with MCC bat gauges to check the width, depth and thickness of bats off the field of play and on the field of play should they deem it necessary.

4.   The Law will be applied in Premier League and Minor Counties cricket from 2019 and across the wider recreational game from 2020.