Club cricket thread

I umpired the top of the table Blackheath vs St Lawrence & HC game on Saturday. An excellent and unexpected win for the visitors, who chased down 243 with two balls and two wkts to spare. Blackheaths overseas Niaz batted aggresively and top scored with 80, then bowled fast. SLHC hung in though, putting on a hundred for the first wkt. They then lost both openers, and scored just 32 runs in the next 22 overs. They then lost Leaning and Stevens to LBWs, and the game seemed beyond them. However, both 16 year olds - Elworthy and (D) Curtiss - showed no fear and they needed 6 off the last over. A fine win. That takes them to the top, with Blackheath dropping to third.

Was told to look at the amount of disciplinaries in the KCL this year - absolutely loads ! 

billysboots said:

Was told to look at the amount of disciplinaries in the KCL this year - absolutely loads ! 

Essex by contrast have only had one. 

Is it that the behaviour is a lot worse in the KCL or has there been a clamp down ? 

There were some carried longer term suspensions carried over from last season but there are only half a dozen players currently suspended. There were 22 suspensions given in the first seven weeks of the season which, given there must be over 3,000 players playing each and every week in the KCL, means that less than one in every 1,000 players are suspended each and every week which really isn't that many. There have been five suspensions in the Essex League but they also have half as many teams and players.  

All of that said I do believe that the behaviour of players over the decades has definitely deteriorated and there is an argument that more should be suspended. I'm afraid that the advent of "professionals" (by that I mean anyone being paid to play) in what is an amateur game has meant that those players have to justify their existence by whatever means they deem necessary.

One aspect that isn't addressed in the professional game and that has transferred to club cricket is the way in which appeals are made. How many players actually know that doing the things referred to below are an offence and how many umpires actually do something about that?

• Repeatedly appealing the same decision.
• Appealing when the fielding team knows the batter is not out, specifically to pressure the umpire.
• Celebrating a dismissal before the umpire has given a decision. 

The Warning: Umpires have the authority to issue a first and final warning to the fielding captain for the entire team. 
Penalty Runs: If the fielding team transgresses again after a warning, the umpires can award 5 penalty runs to the batting side and report the team for misconduct. 
Dissent: Continued appealing after an umpire has firmly ruled "Not out" can be judged as dissent, leading to even stricter disciplinary actions under Law 41. 

The coordinated and repeated appeals are one thing but it is the celebrating of a dismissal before a decision is even made that really infuriates me. Week in, week out, we see bowlers celebrating an LBW or catch without even turning around when appealing. That, in itself, puts pressure on the umpire but can also lead to dissent from the bowler and/or fielding side when the batter isn't given out. If no action is taken in the pro game, where is the incentive for it to be taken in club cricket? 
If all players actually spent some time learning the Laws of the Game and umpires in the professional game started to enforce them then, just perhaps, we wouldn't have the sort of issues we currently witness in club cricket.