By IANS/CMC,
Hamilton (Bermuda): Bermuda’s Under-18 cricket coach Andre Manders has been stripped of his duties for disciplinary reasons following a brawl that led to a first division match being abandoned last month.
Manders, who was due to travel with the Under-18 national squad to next month’s International Cricket Council (ICC) Americas Under-18 Match Play Tournament in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, declined to comment but it is understood he plans to talk to the Bermuda Cricket Board (BCB) soon to discuss his future.
Manders has been replaced by national coach David Moore for the Florida trip.
Manders, a former top batsman who has been coaching at the national youth level for almost two decades, was reprimanded by the BCB’s disciplinary committee after being found guilty of displaying conduct contrary to the spirit of the game during the abandoned May 6 match between Western Stars and Flatts.
Manders’s son Tre, who is among the 14 players chosen to represent Bermuda in Florida, was also reprimanded for using obscene, offensive and insulting language or gestures during the match that marred the opening weekend of the 2012 season.
Flatts pair Kevin Hurdle and Rahji Edness were also punished for their involvement in the brawl.
Fast bowler Hurdle, who played for Bermuda in the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean, was banned for a year and two 50-overs matches after being found guilty of physical assault of another player and showing serious dissent at an umpire’s decision. Edness was banned for two 50-overs matches for using obscene, offensive and insulting language or gestures.
Flatts lost their appeal against Hurdle’s ban but are considering taking their case to the Ministry of Sports Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) arbitration panel in the hope of having their player’s punishment reduced, sources said.
There were no official umpires at the abandoned match at St John’s Field.
The brawl started after Tre Manders stood his ground when he was given run out by stand-in umpire Wayne Campbell.
–IANS/CMC
abr/vt