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Douglas and Darrell facing long spell on sidelines

Willow Cuts duo Deunte Darrell and Chris Douglas could be hit with year-long bans when they go before a Bermuda Cricket Board disciplinary committee this evening.The pair are likely to be heavily punished for their part in the game between Devonshire Rec and Cuts which was abandoned on Sunday when umpires Bobby Smith and Lester Harnett refused to continue after being abused by several Cuts players.Cuts had reacted angrily to Smith’s decision to give Reggie Tucker Jnr out leg before, which left them wobbling at 64 for four, chasing Rec’s total of 139 all out.Smith was the first umpire to leave the field, followed by Harnett shortly afterwards. Douglas reportedly kicked down a set of stumps when Harnett decided to abandon the game, while Darrell is alleged to have fired a volley of abuse at the official.This is not the first time that Douglas and Darrell have been in trouble with the Board during the past 12 months.Douglas is currently serving a one-year international ban for a lifestyle choice that saw him miss the ICC Americas Twenty20 tournament in Florida in July, while Darrell is still under probation following an incident with the Under-19s in Barbados last year, which also saw him slapped with an international ban.There is certainly precedent for Douglas and Darrell to be handed year-long bans, something that several members of the cricket community have said privately that they favour, with Western Stars’ Treadwell Gibbons only returning in July from a two-year ban for violent conduct.The Cuts pair are likely to be charged with level four offences, the highest offence under the BCB’s code of conduct and which carry a minimum 10 game ban. Level four offences are: Repeat for any level three offence within 12 months of such offence; Threat of assault on an umpire or referee; Physical assault of another player, umpire, referee, official or spectator; Any act of violence on the field of play.Level Three offences meanwhile cover: Intimidation of an umpire or referee whether by language or conduct; Threat of assault on another player, team official or spectator; Using any language or gesture that offends, insults, humiliates, intimidates, threatens, disparages or vilifies another person on the basis of that person’s race, religion, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin.With Cuts bowler George O’Brien only having just returned to the side from a suspension, and skipper Malachi Jones, who is also suspended, not due to play again until this Sunday, there had been some suggestion that Cuts as a club be punished with a possible point deduction.That possibility was only increased when the BCB also confirmed that Cuts players and officials continued to abuse Smith after the match when he went to watch the remainder of the Bailey’s Bay and St David’s game at Sea Breeze Oval.However, the Board said yesterday that they had no authority within their current disciplinary procedures to deduct points, something that would have greatly increased the chances of Cuts being relegated.As it is, Rec are likely to be handed the points from the abandoned game during which the home side are said to have conducted themselves far better than their opponents.BCB officials declined to comment on tonight’s disciplinary hearing other than to say: “The BCB Executive is conducting an inquiry regarding the recent incidents.“Once those inquiries are complete and the respective parties have been notified of any decisions made, a media release will be issued.”