A panel of the Cricket Discipline Commission have expelled Yorkshire Carnegie from the Twenty20 Cup after finding the club guilty of fielding an ineligible player in their Northern Division fixture against Notts Outlaws at Trent Bridge.
The panel ruled that the game and the points be awarded to The Outlaws who will take Yorkshire’s place in the quarter-finals of the competition.
“From a cricket perspective, we are pleased to have the opportunity to compete in the quarter-finals of the Twenty20 Cup,” said Notts Chief Executive Derek Brewer.
“The situation that presented itself this week was unfortunate for all concerned but it is important that it is put to rest and that our focus shifts to the task in hand.
“The caveat to this ruling is that there is a process for appeals to be lodged before 5pm on Friday and we will await any developments.
“The fixture list is congested but we will discuss the logistics of the match with Durham and the ECB and keep supporters fully informed of all arrangements.”
Statement from the ECB
At a meeting of a panel of the Cricket Discipline Commission on July 10, 2008, Yorkshire admitted breach of Directives 1.1 and 1.2 of the ECB Directives by playing a non-registered and ineligible player Azeem Rafiq against Nottinghamshire.
Detailed submissions were heard from Yorkshire and the panel further invited comments from representatives of Nottinghamshire and Durham who were most directly affected by the situation.
The decision of the panel is that:
1) Yorkshire be excluded from this year’s Twenty20 Cup competition
2) Match and points awarded to Nottinghamshire
3) Yorkshire pay £1,000 in costs.
In coming to their decision the panel took the view that this was a serious breach of the regulations and could not be passed over as a clerical error.
In reaching its decision the panel accepted that there was no deliberate flouting of the regulations but all counties are aware of the need to ensure compliance with the regulations which are designed to ensure the smooth and fair running of the game of cricket.
The panel find that Yorkshire were aware, no later than early 2007, that there were questions as to the player’s immigration status and were, therefore, put on notice properly to check his eligibility.
This was not done even though on June 27, 2008 the player was making his debut.
The panel took the view that in the circumstances of the situation the ECB did all it reasonably could to ensure that the Twenty20 Cup match between Durham and Yorkshire could go ahead on July 7, 2008.