Paddock escape again
- League News
- Oct 20, 2021
- 2 min read
Veterans League
It looks increasingly likely that Paddock I&C will escape any further action being taken against them for submitting an incorrect result for their final Veterans League match of the season.
That result named a bowler who never bowled in the match and in fact had not bowled for them all season and hid the fact that an ineligible bowler did actually play that game. That smacks of a deliberate ploy to hide the real bowler's name. The match result had been recorded as a 7-0 home win for Paddock who, as a result, escaped relegation from Section 1 of the 6-Man League by a better aggregate score than Longwood. That sent Longwood down to Section 2.
Three days later Paddock's opponents in that match, Oakfield T&BC, declined to verify the result on Bowlsnet as it included the name of a Paddock bowler who hadn't played in the match. Paddock were quite happy for the incorrect result to sit on the system saving them from relegation. When confronted they eventually acknowledged this 'error' but failed to provide a satisfactory explanation as to how it had occurred and then refused to cooperate with the League in identifying the club individual who had submitted the wrong bowler's name on the Bowlsnet system. Link to the first report of this episode
The wrong bowler's name has now been deleted by the League and the game now recorded as a 21-0 walkover win for Oakfield making the match score 6-1 to Paddock. That dropped point meant that Paddock are now one point behind Longwood in the final league table and are therefore relegated. The Veterans League Management Committee apparently think that this is sufficient punishment and no furtrher action has been proposed. In fact, this is no punishment at all as this is just correcting what had already happened had the correct result been input the first time.
Paddock has not contested the fact that they submitted a false result and subsequently allowed the result to stand to avoid relegation and then hampering the League's investigation into what had actually happened. It now seems that the Management Committee is not prepared to take any further action for this wrong submission by Paddock, nor has any explanation or apology been forthcoming from the club. Shameful behavior on all fronts.
I was really surprised to read of the gentle "slap on the wrist" handed out by the management committee to Paddock I & C who, let's be honest, were attempting to cheat the system. Added to that was their lack of co-operation with the inquiry and refusal to name names which further exacerbated the "crime". While it was right that the relegation should stand, in my view they should have been docked points at the start of next season to emphasise the league's disapproval of their actions. Why should other teams trust them to publish truthful results in the future?
This begs the question as to whether the management committee is up to the job and I would challenge any…
Clubs who do not pay their subs on time are fined, but a club who has blatently cheated and broken the rules gets away with no penalty. To be relegated is no penalty at all when they finished in a relegated position. I feel the committee has failed the rest of the clubs in the league. Is this a precedent for future rule breakers ?
Do the rules not provide for some kind of penalty for this wrong doing? If not, then perhaps the rules need looking at. As it stands , I feel Paddock have got off lightly.
Philip of Lindley