2023 ANNUAL REPORT

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY CRICKET CLUB 2023 ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 66 • 5.8.1 The Chair of the Club shall be elected annually by the General Committee at its first meeting after the Annual General Meeting unless already appointed under the provisions of 5.6.1 and 5.7. • 5.8.2 TheVice-Chair of the Club shall be elected by the General Committee at its first meeting after the Annual General Meeting. • 5.8.3 ln both 5.8.1 and 5.8.2 if there is an equality of votes the chair of the meeting shall have the casting vote Effect of changes above: To simplify the process of appointing the Chair and to recognise that, had they been extended under 5.6.1, the need for further election of the Chair at the first General Commit- tee meeting after the AGM would be precluded. Statement For (General Committee and Mr Evans): The General Committee supports the tidying up of the Rules offered under the proposal submitted above by Mr Evans. However, it has been discussed by both parties and we agree that, if the previous Rule changes proposed under Amendment Six are accepted, in effect deleting the option to extend the Chair beyond their Maximum Term and also separating out the timelines, then the changes outlined in this proposed amendment are no longer required. For example, if Rule 5.6.1 is deleted as proposed in Amendment Six, then Amend- ment Seven would become largely ineffective or not required. The Chair confirmed the results of the postal and online vote and informed the meeting that amend- ments five, six and seven had met the required threshold to lead to a change in the Club Rules. The initial communication to members had stated that amend- ment seven would be discounted if amendment six was passed.With amendment six having passed, amendment seven would now be discounted. He then moved on to amendments one to four, which had not met the threshold required to make a change, and so would not be passed. The Chair asked Mr John Evans to briefly speak to the amendments that he had proposed. Mr Evans began by saying that the recent postal vote on the amend- ments had been only the second in living memory. He raised his objections to the postal vote that had been held, saying that he felt voting by post and online would benefit certain individuals rather than the club. He felt that the postal vote had stifled debate and that some of his views had been censored. Mr Evans reminded the meeting that he had objected to the 2020 governance changes being done by postal ballot. There were many amendments to the Rules in 2020, some of which, in his view, had little to do with governance, and yet members had only one vote to cover all the amendments. He said that some of his arguments had been misrepresented, such as his proposal to amend a two-thirds vote to a simple majority in certain circumstances, and that although the General Committee had been divided on whether or not to support his proposed amendments – with the majority voting to oppose – those amendments were shown as being entirely opposed by the committee. Mr Evans also asked why those interested in serving on the committee had to choose between the elected and nominated route in 2022, and enquired as to why Penny Huggard could go down both routes in 2023. He then thanked members for listening and hoped that the key points he had made would be reflected in the minutes. The Chair then read out the results of the votes relating to each proposed amendment: Amendment 1 . For: 126, Against 103. Amendment 2 . For: 135, Against 95. Amendment 3 . For: 97, Against 130. Amendment 4. For: 94, Against: 131. Amendment 5 : For: 207, Against: 20. Amendment 6 . For: 207, Against: 19. Amendment 7 . Discounted. Mr Moore urged members to consult the summary of both Mr Evans’ views and the views of the majority of the committee, which had been circulated prior to the meeting and ahead of the vote on the resolutions. Mr Moore said that Mr Evans’ views – in several paragraphs drafted by Mr Evans – were accurately set out there. The Chair also took the opportunity to address the points raised by Mr Evans.The club had used a postal ballot ahead of the 2023 AGM because it believed that when making a range of significant constitutional changes, it should be made as easy as possible for all members to cast their vote. A postal ballot, with full supporting documentation, gave everyone the chance to see both sides of the argument. Mr Evans observed that voting on the amendments proposed at the 2022 AGM had been done by a show of hands. The Chair said that it was unfair to characterise the General Committee as a split Committee; rather, it was a debating Committee with a range of diverse views which, ultimately, carried collective responsibility. This, he said, was the sign of a healthy organisation. The Chair went on to clarify that the club had not changed the Rules in 2022.The advertisement that had announced that year’s election and nominations process had contained an error. Candidates could proceed down both the elected and nominated routes, although the club had encouraged candidates to go down the elected route.