11. League rules
a) Membership of the League signifies acceptance of the constitution and match rules which shall be published annually in a handbook to be distributed to all member clubs. b) Any club may propose a change to the constitution or match rules, for consideration at a General Meeting. Such proposals must be submitted to the Secretary in writing, together with the names of three other member clubs which have agreed to support the proposal. Proposals must be submitted at least twelve weeks before the date of the annual general meeting for consideration by the Executive Committee which will circulate all reasonable proposals to member clubs. Clubs may propose amendments to those proposals, which must be submitted to the Secretary at least six weeks before the date of the annual general meeting. Such amendments, if considered reasonable by the Executive Committee, must be included on the agenda for that meeting, along with any proposals for changes to the constitution and match rules. c) All resolutions before a General Meeting, to amend the constitution or match rules, shall be decided by a simple majority of member clubs present and voting. Clubs abstaining from voting shall not be counted when calculating a majority for passing resolutions. d) Changes to match rules will be considered by a General Meeting and implemented for an experimental period not exceeding one season. Thereafter, any proposal to adopt the change on a permanent basis must be included on the agenda for the AGM in that year, and voted on by all member clubs present. e) All matters not covered by the constitution or match rules shall be dealt with by the Executive Committee whose decision, in all cases, shall be final.
12. Player Conduct & Eligibility
a) Any player who abuses a match umpire or otherwise challenges the authority of an umpire in a manner deemed unacceptable will face disciplinary action. It will also be a disciplinary offence for any player in the course of or in connection with a match to act in a manner which could prejudice the good name or interests of the League, or for any team or club to fail to control its players or to act in a manner which could prejudice the good name or interests of the League. Reports of such acts or misconduct received by the League which must be made by the panel or nonplaying umpires officiating in the match, unless there are none such will, in the first instance, be passed to the player’s club which will advise the League within a period of seven days of the action it intends to take. The League Executive Committee will consider the matter further if it is not satisfied as to the likely effectiveness of such action and, if necessary, take appropriate action against the club or individual player, as set out in rule 7(d). Any club or individual shall have the right to appeal against a decision of the Committee. Notice of the appeal, setting out the grounds, must be given in writing to the Hon. Secretary by the club concerned, within 7 days of its receipt of the notification of the said decision, together with a fee of £50 made payable to the League. The penalty imposed will be suspended pending the hearing of the appeal which will be carried out by an appeals panel nominated by the Executive Committee but not including any members of that committee or the discipline sub-committee or any club with any interest in the outcome of the appeal. The appeal will be held as soon as practicable after receipt of the notice of appeal and in any event within 10 days of receipt of such notice of appeal. The club or individual shall have the right to attend the appeal hearing and may call any witnesses in support. The appeals panel may also summon and consider evidence from other relevant parties. The appeals panel may confirm, vary or reverse the decision and its decision shall be final and binding. b) All players must be bona-fide playing members of their clubs. After June 15th in any season, no player shall move to a club and represent that club, having already played in that season for another member club. In divisions 1-5 inclusive, players in all games must be pre-registered by April 1st, and any new players must be registered 7 days before the first match in which they are selected. No player who is a new club member may be registered after July 31st. No player may be registered to play for more than one league club at any one time. c) No player shall receive any payment or payment in kind for playing for a club. d) After July 31st: I. No player who has normally appeared for a particular XI shall play for a lower XI. II. No new member who has not previously played for a club in that season, shall appear in a league match for that club in the remainder of that season. In the event of any allegation against a player under this rule, the club concerned will be required to justify its selections for the match concerned. e) Clubs may include only one player per team who is not qualified to play for England and has been continuously resident in the UK for less than 12 months, subject to any special exemptions granted in advance by the Executive Committee. A player shall not be deemed to be continuously resident if he spends more than 28 consecutive days outside the UK in any qualifying period of 12 months. No club may select a player who has played test cricket (other than for England) in the previous 24 months. All players governed by this rule must be registered in writing with the League at least 7 days before appearing in any league match. f) Before the toss of the coin the captains shall hand a written list of their team members for that match to the umpires, or if no umpire to the opposing captain. In the case of matches in divisions 1-5, the umpires will send the team sheets to the appropriate league officer. g) A player moving to another Herts League club at any time shall be eligible to play for the new club only if all financial and other obligations to the former club have been discharged.
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