AGM - the main points
The League's AGM took place on Friday evening at Braintree CC, with all but seven clubs being represented. So fines will be imposed upon Coggeshall, Coggeshall Hamlet, Boreham, Terling, Gosfield, Kelvedon & Feering, and University of Essex, the latter did send their apologies.
The Management Committee was re-elected en bloc.
The divisional constitution will see Division One remain with eight teams, Divisions Two, Three and Four have seven, and Division Five will have five teams, but each team would play three times against each opponent to make twelve matches as in Divisions Two to Four. The third set of fixtures all being played at the Leisure Centre. This formation means that more matches are played than the alternative option, so we do not risk losing hours to other bookings at the Leisure Centre in the future.
So the 2014-15 divisional constitutiion is now:
(Division One): Three Fields, Coggeshall, Witham, Braintree Youth, Braintree, Woodham Mortimer, Little Bardfield Village, and Braintree College.
(Division Two): Coggeshall Hamlet, Witham Reserves, Earls Colne, Rayne, Helions Bumpstead, Gosfield, and, Terling.
(Division Three): Sampfords, Woodham Mortimer Reserves, Braintree Reserves, Boreham, High Easter, Terling Reserves, and University of Essex.
(Division Four): Earls Colne Reserves, Kelvedon & Feering, High Garrett, Rayne Reserves, Marconi, Little Bardfield Village Reserves, Braintree College Reserves.
(Division Five): Boreham Reserves, Sampfords Reserves, Kelvedon & Feering Reserves, Woodham Mortimer III, and Rayne III.
Rayne III coming in after the departures of Bocking; Bocking Reserves, and West Bergholt.
Rule change proposals. (i) That wides and no-balls will now count as three instead of one, plus any additional runs acrued as at present, but no extra deliveries are bowled until the final two overs when they will count as one but the extra balls will be bowled, was carried.
Martin Cutmore's already published penalty with regard to incomplete scorecards (see further down this column), was also carried.
"If scoresheets are received by the League administrator with two or more illegible or omitted named entries, then the officiating team shall be deducted five points."
The eligibility rule was not discussed, as we forgot, but if there are no objections received I will propose that we accept it.
(ii) that the eligibility of players is amended to players who have appeared for a first class county or internationally recognised state first class team, instead of "in a first class match during the preceeding season".
All fees to remain unchanged at this time as we do not know if the Centres will be increasing their charges at this time.
The draws for the opening rounds of the two Cup competitions were also made with Witham's Jack Sambrook and Earls Colne's Steve Willsher drawing the balls from the bag.
The BDICL Cup Prelminary Round draw is as follows:
University of Essex v Little Bardfield Village; Terling v Braintree Youth; Kelvedon & Feering v Marconi; Witham v Earls Colne; Woodham Mortimer v Helions Bumpstead.
The First Round draw is as follows:
Coggeshall Hamlet v Kelvedon & Feering or Marconi; High Easter v High Garrett; Three Fields v Gosfield; University of Essex or Little Bardfield Village v Terling or Braintree Youth; Braintree v Coggeshall; Braintree College v Sampfords; Boreham v Woodham Mortimer or Helions Bumpstead; Rayne v Witham or Earls Colne.
The Reserve League Cup First Round draw is as follows:
Rayne III v Boreham Reserves; Braintree Reserves v Woodham Mortimer III; Witham Reserves v Terling Reserves; Rayne Reserves v Kelvedon & Feering Reserves; Sampfords Reserves v Braintree College Reserves.
Earls Colne Reserves; Little Bardfield Village Reserves, and Woodham Mortimer Reserves all receive byes to the Second Round.