A club cricketer who hit headlines this summer for allegedly head-butting an umpire has been handed a one-year ban.
The player was accused of assaulting the official – who was also a fellow player in the match – after his lbw appeal was turned down during a league match in the New Forest. The game was abandoned and the umpire is said to have lost a tooth.
The player in question, Jason Ford of Fawley CC, has now been banned for 17 matches by the Hampshire Cricket League, putting him out of action until July 2019.
“The club cannot comment any further while there is an ongoing police investigation.”
The news followed a swell of concern about standards of behaviour in club cricket, with events like this a clear threat to the health of the game at grassroots level.
