1.1 The Committee is committed to maintaining the highest standards of behaviour and conduct of those subject to its jurisdiction. In pursuance of these standards the following rules of conduct shall be complied with by all persons and Clubs subject to the Committee’s jurisdiction. For the purposes of these regulations, the expression "the Player," shall throughout be deemed to mean, and include, not only any player but also club member or official.

1.2 Each such person shall at all times conduct himself or herself fairly and properly on the field, which for the purposes of this sub-paragraph shall include any part of the cricket ground and not merely the field of play. Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing the following shall be regarded as conduct which is not fair or proper:

(a) Verbal or physical abuse or hostility towards any person or member of the public.

(b) Disputing the umpire’s decision or reacting in a provocative or disapproving manner towards an umpire at any time.

(c) Using crude and/or abusive language or hand signals or engaging in similar conduct.

Procedure

2.1 Any alleged breach of Paragraph 1 above shall be notified in writing (to be known as a complaint) to the Secretary of the Cheshire Clubs’ Cricket Committee within 7 days of its occurrence. He in turn shall notify the Competition Secretary in writing within 7 days of the receipt of the complaint.

2.2 Where a complaint is intended to be made by an umpire he shall inform the captains of both relevant teams of his intention to do so.

2.3 Any complaint so initiated must be referred to the Competition Sub-Committee within 7 days of the incident. The Sub-Committee shall as soon as reasonably practical consider the complaint and resolve either:

(a) To take no action except to record the complaint and to notify the club or person who has made the complaint, as the case may be.

(b) To endorse any disciplinary action taken by a relevant club.

(c) To refer the matter to a Disciplinary Hearing.

Disciplinary Hearing

3.1 In any case, referred to a Disciplinary Hearing, at least 7 days notice in writing of the hearing and of the offence(s) alleged, shall be given to the player, or in the case of a club, its secretary.

3.2 The player and/or Club shall be entitled to attend the hearing (in the case of a club by its nominated official) and to be supported by a Club colleague and to call witnesses.

3.3 The Competition Sub-Committee shall act as a Disciplinary Sub-Committee for the purposes of a Disciplinary Hearing.

Penalties

4.1 If at the hearing the Disciplinary Sub-Committee finds the alleged offence(s) proved, it shall have the power to impose one or more of the following penalties:

4.2 In the case of a player:

(b) To record a reprimand and to give warning as to future conduct and report the findings to his appropriate League Committee.

(c) To impose a fine.

(d) To expel the player from the Competition for the current season, or for a given number of cup matches.

4.3 In the case of a club:

(a) To require the club to submit appropriate letter(s) of apology within 14 days, provided that if the club fails to do so, such failure shall in itself constitute a disciplinary offence.

(b) To record a reprimand and to give a warning as to future conduct and report the findings to the appropriate League Committee.

(c) To impose a fine.

(d) To expel the club from the Competition for the current season or future seasons.

4.4 The Disciplinary Sub-Committee shall have the power to suspend the operation of any part, or all, of the penalty it imposes for such a period and subject to such terms and conditions as it deems appropriate.

4.5 Decisions of the Disciplinary Sub-Committee shall be by majority vote and where necessary the Chairman shall have a casting vote.

Appeal Procedure

5.1 A player or club shall have the rights of appeal to the Appeals Sub-Committee. Notice of appeal setting out the grounds must be given in writing to the Secretary of the Appeals Sub-Committee within 7 days of the decision of the Disciplinary Sub-Committee, together with a deposit of £30.

5.2 The Appeals Sub-Committee shall be appointed by the Cheshire Clubs’ Cricket Committee at the start of each season and shall consist of three members of the Committee who are not members of the Competition Sub-Committee.

5.3 If notice of appeal is given the penalty shall not take effect pending the hearing of the appeal. The appeal shall be by way of a re-hearing. The player or club shall have the same rights of attendance and representation as in 3.2 above.

5.4 The Appeals Sub-Committee may confirm, or vary in any way the decision of the Disciplinary Sub-Committee. Decisions shall be taken as in 4.5 above.

5.5 The Appeals Sub-Committee shall have the power where they consider an appeal to be without merit, to order the deposit to be forfeited to the Cheshire Clubs’ Cricket Committee.