PCL chiefs call in unpaid debts

NIGEL TENCH . . . warning to players over behaviour

CLUBS owe the JW Lees Brewery Pennine Cricket League thousands of pounds in unpaid fines and a myriad of outstanding fees.

Figures released at the latest monthly league meeting revealed the debt up until the end of June was £5,516.

One club owes more than £600 and another over £800, some of which dates back to the 2016 season.

The clubs have been given until the August 1 ­- the next monthly league meeting ­- to pay up or face monetary sanctions.

The offenders were told that, if debts are not paid in full, they won't be allowed to join another league.

Fines for missing captains' reports continue to mount up, with the amount standing at £420.

PCL chairman Nigel Tench warned players of their responsibilities after the meeting heard four players were suspended for abusing umpires. The bans were of two and three weeks.

Mr Tench also told the delegates that from October 1 yellow and red cards would be available to umpires to punish players for misdemeanours.

He also asked clubs to make sure the ECB code of conduct which covers players' behaviour is pinned on dressing room walls.

Mr Tench congratulated the "brilliant job" Andy Young and Dr Martin Harvey had done in their talks with representatives from the Greater Manchester Cricket League. Both were given a round of applause by club delegates.

Austerlands captain Young and Stayley president Harvey were part of the PCL 2018 Steering Group which met the GMCL with a view to discussing options for the eight remaining clubs who had yet to decide their futures.

A statement released after the get-together, facilitated by the Lancashire Cricket Board, recommended that the clubs join the GMCL en bloc for next season.

Young said a meeting would be organised soon between the clubs and the GMCL.

Delegates welcomed the idea that the PCL would have a say in the positioning of clubs in the GMCL pyramid system.

They also supported retaining the traditional Wood, Tanner, Burton and Moore Cup competitions, possibly run by a PCL committee, somewhere within the 2018 GMCL programme.

An umpires meeting will be held next Wednesday evening at Milnrow to get an idea of which officials would like to join the GMCL roster.

Umpires, it is thought, would be handed fixtures local to them instead of having to travel into Manchester and beyond.

* CLUBS have no stomach for an end-of-season presentation evening, after delegates voted unanimously to cancel the function at the Oldham Event Centre on Friday, October 27.

* WOOD Cup semi-finalists Littleborough informed the league that they would be seeking a deputy professional as Ryan Burl had been called into a Zimbabwe touring squad until July 19.

* THE PCL's under-21s representative side meet their Liverpool Competition counterparts at Littleborough's Hare Hill ground on Tuesday, July 11 (11am).

Meanwhile, the league's under-12s play the Palace Shield at Kirkham on Sunday, July 16 (2pm).