Cricket Discipline Commission penalises Notts for breach of bat regulation

The club pleaded guilty to a charge after one of their players, Solomon Budinger, was found to have used a bat which did not meet the requirements of Law 5 of The Laws of Cricket 2017 Code relating to bat sizes

Notts have been deducted one point in the Second XI Trophy and a further suspended penalty of half the available match points in any competition.

The club pleaded guilty to a charge after one of their players, Solomon Budinger, was found to have used a bat which did not meet the requirements of Law 5 of The Laws of Cricket 2017 Code relating to bat sizes. The incident in question took place during a Second XI Trophy match against Leicestershire on May 21.

Budinger is not a registered cricketer (though eligible to play 2nd XI cricket), and therefore was not charged individually.

The penalty was agreed with the Cricket Discipline Commission under the summary process Regulations 5 and 6 of the CDC Regulations after the player’s bat had failed an in-game bat check by the umpires.

A suspended penalty will be applied if any Notts player is found to be in breach of the law in any competition within 12 months of the date of the match in addition to any sanction imposed for the proven subsequent offence.

The CDC have stated 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.

They have reiterated the importance of counties ensuring that all players’ bats are compliant, with particular care being needed for trialists.

Notts were said to have made an effort to ensure all players were aware of the law but had not checked the bat in question before the game.

No financial penalty was handed out and Notts have stated the the club will be making no further comment.

1.The Laws of Cricket 2017 Code came into effect on 1st October 2017 and have been integrated into the Regulations and Playing Conditions across 1st XI, 2nd 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.