DEVON
CRICKET LEAGUE NEWS
Contact
us
November
14, 2008
Managed
Migration System Update
The
DCL are please to submit a copy of the final agreement
reached between the 
Home
Office and the ECB for Overseas Players Migration to this
Country for the 2009 season.
We
strongly advise that you read these documents below as
the DCL will be observing the documents of all overseas
players prior to the 2009 season.
1)
An
explanation of the Government’s new points-based
immigration system
2)
Guide
to applications
The
new system came into force with effect from 1st November,
but we are currently awaiting confirmation from the Home
Office that the procedure proposed by ECB is acceptable
to them. Until this confirmation is received, it is recommended
by ECB that applications for licences be delayed.
Full details of the procedure will be disseminated to
you all when that confirmation has been received.
You may also have seen a recent publication from the Home
Office when the Minister responsible issued a “Statement
of Intent” relating to the Sports Visas.
The statement indicated that Sports Visas would not be
available for persons wishing to enter the country to
play over a full season in a domestic competition.
The statement raised a number of issues that need urgent
clarification, and the Home Office have been approached
for that clarification.
When a response is received, that will also be disseminated.
We suggest that you all monitor this situation carefully,
particularly in respect of the ‘Sports Visas’
that so many of you keep referring to!
19
October 2008
You
may recall I wrote to you recently regarding the NEW Managed
migration system for employing overseas cricketers.
At the time I was able to provide you with the criteria
required for your overseas player for next season. The
DCL have been in constant contact with the Home Office
regarding this issue and they have submitted to us the
following information for applying for a license to bring
an overseas player into this country.
I strongly advise that you follow the guidelines to avoid
the embarrassment of having your player refused entry.
Firstly we recommend that you re-read the information
previously sent to you (copies are available or see the
Website) then contact the Website set out below to register
your sponsorship, at this stage you will not be required
to name a player but you must be a sponsor.
http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/employers/points/sponsoringmigrants/applyforlicence/applyonline/
There is also a help line if you are in difficulty.
Sponsorship and Employers Helpline: 0845 010 6677. Please
follow these instructions, as when the DCL are requested
to register players next year the above path must have
been followed where appropriate.
4
October 2008
To
all members of the Devon Cricket League:
If you are one of the many Clubs considering the employment
of an overseas player next season you may wish to consider
the following notes from a recent meeting I attended on
behalf of the DCL with the League Cricket Conference.
Firstly let me clear up any misunderstandings regarding
the term ‘employing an overseas cricketer’
The Home Office have defined employment as a Club that
provides any assistance to the player such as accommodation,
a contribution or all the cost of a flight and any payment
for coaching or general help with the running of a Club.
It is safe to say that 99% of players meet these criteria.
That said; let us assume that all overseas players in
2009 will fall into the following requirements.
Managed Migration System.
· This is the term used by the Home office to cover
overseas players playing in this country.
Background
The background to the change in legislation: It was recognised
that procedures needed to be simplified as in the past
there were:
· Multiple methods of entry.
· The system was bureaucratic.
· It lacked transparency.
· Was difficult to monitor
· And finally there has been a changing environment.
The new system
· A new system will be introduced that will be
simpler to administer with fewer methods of entry!
· It would be transparent and included a points
system.
· It would be more secure with improved monitoring.
Methods of Entry
· Tier 2 - to be used by the First Class Counties.
· Tier 5 – to be used by recreational clubs
with player short term contracts. *
· Sports Visas to be issued. These to be issued
by the players home country!
* The DCL consider that this category will apply to DCL
players.
Sponsorship
· Each Club will be required to arrange a sponsorship
facility with the Home Office.
· Two levels will apply Level ‘A’ &
‘B’ to be determined by the Home Office.
· The cost to the Club will be £400, however
as the ‘sponsorship’ will apply for four years,
the annual cost of £100 is the true cost.
· Guidance notes on sponsorship issues are available
on line.
The Application Process
· Each Club MUST apply on line before the 1st November
2008.
www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/employers
· Your application must include a copy of your
last audited accounts.
· Your application must also include support by
the ECB. This issue is still under discussion and will
be resolved by the end of w/c 29th September. It is likely
to ask if the club is Club Marked etc.
· A copy of the Clubs Employers Liability Insurance
certificate.
· If the Club is either a registered charity or
is VAT Registered then appropriate confirmation documents
will be required.
The Points System
· The skills level of the sponsor’s applicant.
· The level of remuneration to be paid.
· A resident labour market test.
· The players command of the English Language.
Skill level
· The Players playing ability – possible
requirement of 5 first class matches within the past 24
months. This will probably apply to Tier 2! Only.
· The player must have UKCC Level 2 or equivalent.
This must be in place prior to arrival.
A Certificate of Sponsorship
· Apply on line. www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/employers
· The Job offer in writing together with a copy
of the signed contract.
· ECB confirmation that the player meets the necessary
criteria.
· The cost of the certificate is £10 per
player.
VISA
· Once the ‘Certificate of Sponsorship’
is issued, a VISA must be obtained by the player.
· The new VISA will provide entry clearance and
will contain bio-metric details of the holder. Note the
Home Office will not guarantee admission.
The Sports VISA
· This is only available for ‘amateur sports
persons wishing to the country for a limited period (less
than 6 months)
· The player must be amateur coming to this country
to play in a pre-dominantly amateur team. (This will have
to be proved that the player is simply travelling under
his own expense and that accommodation etc is being paid
by him)
· A Sports Visa will cost £65 and will be
available from the British High Commission or Embassy
in the player’s home country.
Sanctions
· The Employment Law is to be strengthened, details
are not published yet.
· Clubs will be held liable for the action of their
employees
· Failure to comply with the requirements could
result on fines or imprisonment of club Officials.
· No player under the above criteria will be permitted
to transfer between Clubs during the contract period.
Summary
The DCL are concerned that Clubs may wish to ignore this
NEW legislation but we feel it is our duty to point out
the issues.
We beg you that if you are intending to employ (by whatever
method) an overseas player in 2009 please visit the Home
Office Site.
A copy of this document will shortly be placed upon the
Devon Cricket Web site
www.devoncricket.co.uk
We will add the final requirements of ECB as soon as we
are notified
If you have any issues in the meanwhile please do not
hesitate to contact me.
27
September 2008
Memo
from the Secretary:
We
confirm that The DCL Executive has decided that there
will be an Awards Evening this year even though there
were problems with discipline last year. The precise details
will be announced in the next few weeks when the appointed
Sub-Committee has determined the content.
Keep a note of the date Friday 28th November at the
Exeter Court Hotel.
We
can confirm that there will be a reduced number of awards
this year to compliment the changes to our divisional
structure.
League
Championship Awards
Every
Divisional winner (First and Second Eleven Divisions)
will receive a trophy and twelve silver medals for the
players.
There
will be two new trophies for the ‘F' and ‘G' Divisions.
NOTE:
Their will be NO
runners up trophies this year. Club in possession of runners
up awards may keep them.
Winners
trophies must be returned to the Divisional Meetings in
September.
Captain
& Club of the year Awards
This
year this will include the ‘C' Division for the first
time. They will of course be determined by the Umpires
Reports submitted to us after each match.
The
Bob Bridges Youth Award and the Player of the year award
These
will be decided by the DCL following submissions by the
Clubs either at the Divisional meetings or in confidence
direct to the League Secretary.
Divisional
Awards for Batting and Bowling.
These
Gold medals will be determined from the statistics proved
by the Results Secretaries.
I
hope to release details of ticket costs and allocations
in the next two weeks.
27
September 2008
The
DCL are pleased to inform members that the following teams
have decided to join the league for the 2009 season:
North
Devon 3rd XI
Topsham
St. James 2nd XI
Bovey
Tracey 3rd XI
Filleigh
1st XI
24
September 2008
Umpires'
Report Summaries
For
the Top Four Divisions
Congratulations
to all the winning Clubs and Captains.
Trophies
for the winners will be presented at the Awards Dinner
on the 28th November
Umpires'
Markings are here:
Premier
A
Division
B
Division
C
Division
19
September 2008:
2008
Divisional Club Meetings
Dear
Club Representative:
Please
see set out below a proposed agenda. You are asked to attend
the meeting applicable for your first eleven for the 2009
season. It is very important that you are represented, (Rule
4.d applies.) if possible including your Captain.
AGENDA:
The
current Divisional Representative must appoint someone to
take the minutes.
•
Apologies.
2.
Selection of your Divisional Representative
(Rule 3.b applies)
3.
Your attention is drawn to the discussion point's
document attached.
4.
Approved minutes and any formal proposals* from
the meeting to be returned to the League Secretary by 10
October 2008.
*
NB: All formal proposals from the members at the meeting
must be formally voted upon prior to being submitted to
the EMC. Only a proposal receiving a majority of the members
present will be considered. Clubs may of course submit separate
proposals direct to the EMC.
5.
The D.C.U. & S.
6.
Nominate a candidate for ‘Player of the Year'
7.
Nominate a candidate for ‘The Bob Bridges Youth
Award'
8.
Any Other Business.
NB:
All perpetual trophies must be returned at this meeting.
This year for the first time only Divisional Winners
Trophies from the 2007 season are required. Runners
up trophies will remain the property of the respective winners.
Documents:
Divisional
Meeting Dates.
Discussion
Points Document.
The
Awards for 2007
(your trophies required are highlighted, if held by you)
Divisional
team content for 2009 (Provisional see Rule 2.b)
Finally
you are advised that the 2009 season will be from May 2nd
to August 29 th . Under Rule.11.c you are requested to contact
the League Fixtures Secretary by September 30 2008 if you
wish to re-locate any fixtures. It is hoped that fixtures
will be made available to you by the end of October 2009.
Geoff Coish. (Secretary)
5
September 2008:
The
DCL are revising rules 19 & 20 at present, they are
only in draft format, however if you want to know provisional
details contact us @ sec.dcl@btconnect.com
It
is our intention to issue details of this issue and many
others at the forthcoming Divisional Meetings. Details
will be sent to your League Representative in the post
shortly.
Divisional
Meeting dates:
Premier
Division
Monday 29th September 7.30
p.m.
‘A'
& ‘B' Divisions
Tuesday 30th September 7.30 p.m.
‘C'
& ‘D' Divisions
Wednesday 1st October 7.30
p.m.
‘E',
‘F' & ‘G' Divisions Thursday 2nd
October 7.30 p.m.
The
meetings will be held in the Devon Suite at the Exeter
Court Hotel.
4
August 2008: Memo
from the DCL Secretary.
There
appears to be a misunderstanding regarding the Promotion
and Relegation from the Second Eleven Championship this
season. This has been brought about for a number of reasons
and the DCL have ruled the following:
•
For the end of the 2008 season . One
Team only will be relegated from the Premier, ‘A', ‘B'
and ‘C' Divisions. Promotion from these leagues will stand
at two clubs from each Division.
•
Promotion and Relegation from all other Divisions will
be as before although there may be some adjustment on
content, dependant on the number of new Teams entering
our league Competition.
The
DCL executive apologises for not making this clear to all
before now.
We
are pleased, however, that there is interest with new Clubs
and additional teams joining the league next year. The more
the merrier.
14
July 2008: Memo from the DCL Secretary.
The
DCL have been advised about a number of press reports expressing
concern about League Rules and how they should be changed.
Although it's good to have your say to the Press may I point
out that little will be done unless you all forward your
frustrations and concerns to us.
The procedure is simple: The DCL collates all issues that
occur during the season, and comments expressed, to produce
a base agenda for Divisional meetings held in September.
After the Clubs have discussed the proposals they are submitted
to the DCL to be possibly included in the next AGM (Friday
30th January 2009)
Items at present being considered are:
· Changes to Rules 19 and 20 Registration and Transfers.
It is intended to simplify these rules following the numerous
appeals we have had this year.
· The Points system, should average points be considered.
The DCL have examined this and at the time of writing it
is difficult to see if including this would change League
Table Positions unless you know different!
· Spiralling costs Teas, Umpires Expenses etc.etc.
· The issue of Cricket Balls is still undecided even
though the DCL are in negotiation regarding this matter
we have had little response from Clubs.
· Finally grounds and facilities, at present the
DCL can only recommend requirements, should we be asking
for firmer commitments from clubs to comply with the minimum
standards, is the required for the division you are playing
in fair.
May we recommend that when it’s raining (yet again)
that you take time to look through the 2008 handbook if
anything occurs to you, let us know?
Geoff
24
June 2008: REMINDER!
A
reminder the closing date for transfers this season is 30th
June. See Rule 20 (c)
(ii)
You may register a new player (not transferred from any
Club) up to and including the 31st July. See Rule
20 (b) (iii)
22
June 2008: Results System
Following
a meeting of result Secretaries the following points were
agreed. Firstly the new results system by Efax is a resounding
success. Congratulations to all the clubs, posting is now
almost redundant.
However,
the following issues were raised:
1. Clubs are reminded that Efax results have to be received
by the results service by 12 Noon on the TUESDAY following
the match.
2. Results sheets must be written in Black ink as pencil
and the like does not copy well.
3. For Captains and selectors only. Please ensure that your
players are registered. The League Secretary does not take
any pleasure in implementing fines for non-registered players.
Read Rule 20.a.
4. To enable results to be placed on Teletext - please respond
to Dennis White when he rings you before 9 p.m. on match
day.
9
June 2008: Handbook Error!
The telephone number of the Babbacombe ground has been misprinted
in the 2008 handbook:
Babbacombe.C.C. Ground Telephone Number 01803 325819
23
May 2008: Consultation Over Cricket
Balls for 2009
Clubs
may not be aware that the Devon Cricket League's second
3 year contract for the supply of cricket balls ends this
season.
British
Cricket Balls manufacturers of the ‘Dukes' ball has been
used for the last seven seasons. The cost has been maintained
for this period. To date the Secretary only remembers having
to replace one ball in all that period.
Clubs
will know that two standards of ball are used:
The
Premier and ‘A' Division teams use the ‘County International'
ball and the remaining divisions use the grade ‘A'
Special match ball.
Your
Committee has decided to ask all of the Clubs if they are
satisfied with the ball being used at present, or would
you like to change, or would you like the Committee to re-examine
the grade and or type of ball used? Would you pay more for
a better quality or do you want to pay less?
Please
consider these questions and respond the league Secretary
during the season.
23
May 2008: Legal Update on Land Use
at Club Grounds
Cricket
Clubs with their own grounds (whether it is freehold or
lease), they may not know the former uses that have been
made of the land previously and what may have been dumped
below the surface. This is particularly prevalent where
a Club's ground exists on former ‘brown field sites'. Liability
as a land owner under Environmental Protection Law follows
a review following a landmark decision of the House of Lords
on late 2007.
If
you have any concerns, or require more information on this
issue, please contact the Secretary and a copy of the judgement
will be forwarded to you.
The DCL is indebted to the legal department of the League
Cricket Conference for this.
COMMITTEE
NEWS:
DCL
Handbook Omission
It
has been brought to our attention that there is an omission
in the latest DCL Handbook publication.
Page 96 (b) Wide Ball.
With the inclusion of Independent Umpires in our 'C' Division
1st matches from this season, we should have added this
information in the second paragraph. This refers to the
strict and consistent interpretation in regard to the Law
for wide deliveries.
The DCL apologises for this omission.
If any other errors are spotted please let us know, no prizes
but simply thanks in anticipation!
21.02.08
The
DCL / Dartmoor Breweries Twenty/20 Cup
The
DCL are pleased to advise that we have finalised arrangements
for the above competition. Read more >>>>
05.02.08
2008
AGM REVIEW
26.06.07 We
need a new Grounds Inspector
