Sandy Lane have narrowly avoided being expelled from the Mewies Solicitors Craven League but have been relegated from the top flight.

They were found guilty of failing to control their players and having “prejudiced the good name and interests of the league” at an inquiry and disciplinary hearing.

A vote was then taken, with three disciplinary committee members wanting them expelled and five opting for the lesser punishment of a 15-point deduction.

The latter sanction means they have been relegated from Division One and Cononley, who were originally second from bottom, will remain in the top flight of the Craven League, which includes a host of Keighley and district sides.

The inquiry was looking into incidents on the final day of the season when Lane hosted already-relegated Thornton, whose batsmen, fearing that matters might get out of hand because of Lane’s sledging, walked from the field of play and refused to continue the match.

Thornton were represented at the disciplinary meeting by assistant secretary Brian Parker, captain Jason Lockley and players Mark Paxton, Brian Laycock and Kevin Pollard, with Lane’s sole representative being secretary John Hird, despite other club officials, captain, vice-captain and players being invited to attend.

Paxton explained that his team had been subject to a barrage of abuse from the moment they arrived at the ground.

While Thornton were fielding, derogatory remarks were made by Sandy Lane players from the boundary edge, and things became worse when Thornton were batting.

The visitors asked the umpire to intervene, which he did, asking the Sandy Lane captain to stop his team’s personal abuse. However, that didn’t do the trick and Paxton felt it best to stop the match rather than risk losing his temper and doing something he would later regret.

Lockley said that there were two ringleaders in the Sandy Lane team who were encouraging the rest of the side to be abusive.

In particular, one young Thornton batsman suffered comments about his weight.

Laycock had played cricket in the league for a number of years and said he had never seen anything like it. One incident involved his son Jack, who was pushed by one of the Sandy Lane bowlers and verbally abused.

Hird explained that he had not watched the whole match as he had spent some time in the pavilion but understood that there was some niggle at the earlier fixture between the sides at Thornton (June 27).

Hird added he knew exactly who the troublemakers were at his club.

The umpire for the September 12 match was David Shepherd, who said that the banter was unsavoury and unacceptable but was nothing worse than the usual standard in the league.

He said the key point was whether the sledging had offended the recipient – he said it was a fine line between what is acceptable and what isn’t and that he would step in when that line had been crossed.

As for the collision between the Sandy Lane bowler and the Thornton batsman, Shepherd said he didn’t think anything of it.

The league’s disciplinary minutes stated: “Sandy Lane as a club have shown total disrespect and have not taken the inquiry/disciplinary meeting seriously.

“It is unfortunate that out of ten players and all their club officials, only one person was sent to represent them.

“From all of the interviews, two names were regularly mentioned as causing problems. These two players were even mentioned by the Sandy Lane representative.

“All were in agreement that these two players started the sledging but their club has done nothing to control their players. With this in mind, it was agreed that action would be taken against the club.”

Hird, whose club were fined £100, said after Monday’s Craven League monthly meeting: “Sandy Lane are not appealing against the decision.

“We have accepted our punishment and are just grateful that we are playing again next season.”