St Kilda Premier Cricket Fourth XI skipper suspended over bizarre timed-out dismissal

St Kilda’s Premier Cricket Fourth XI skipper has been suspended over a bizarre timed-out dismissal which featured a player walking out to bat wearing shorts and no pads or gloves.

A Victorian Premier Cricket captain has been suspended over a bizarre episode in which a player walked out to bat wearing shorts and no pads or gloves.

The incident – which resulted in a rare timed-out dismissal – happened in last Saturday’s Fourth XI match between St Kilda and Fitzroy-Doncaster.

The Saints had one over to bat and believed stumps would be called if a wicket fell.

“Chaos ensued’’ when they lost a wicket, with captain Will Faulkner scrambling to put on his pads after learning the over would be completed.

Teammate Edward Verco volunteered to go to the middle to prevent Faulkner from being dismissed timed out. Verco walked out in black shorts carrying a bat and wearing no protective equipment.

The umpires sent him back to the pavilion. Faulkner replaced him and saw out the over.

Last night Faulkner was suspended at the Cricket Victoria tribunal for one match for “conduct bringing the game into disrepute’’. Verco accepted the same penalty earlier in the week.

Victoria Premier Cricket operations manager Darren Anderson said Faulkner would have to sit out a finals match this weekend. He said Faulkner had explained the circumstances of the incident, detailing how “chaos ensued’’ when it became apparent the over would be completed.

Edward Verco, in black shorts (L), is timed out. Picture: St Kilda Cricket Club

Anderson said the report was “at the lowest possible end’’ of a Level 2 offence and the suspension was “unfortunate’’.

“He understood he made a mistake … he was disappointed (with the penalty) and we get that,’’ he said.

“At the end of the day, Premier Cricket is Premier Cricket. People will say it’s the Fourth XI. At the same time, we’ve got no rules that separate Fourth XI and First XI cricket. We need to implement the rules as they and make sure the integrity of the competition and the image of the competition are preserved.’’

Faulker had told CODE Sports: “We were under the impression that a wicket in that first and final over of our innings on the day would bring about stumps but that didn’t happen.

“I raced in to put my kit on as quickly as possible and I was padded up just around the three-minute mark, but I was asking what the vibe was when they (Fitzroy-Doncaster) were standing around.

“We gathered pretty quickly that Fitzroy-Doncaster were going to appeal for timed-out.

“Vercs and I being very good mates, he said, ‘Look Faulks, do you want me to grab my bat and head out to see what they say?’

“He brought a bat out there with him to get an indication on whether they were going to appeal because if they were he was going to say he was the batsman.

“That was exactly what they did, Fitzroy-Doncaster wanted to appeal for timed-out, and he walked off.”

Originally published as St Kilda Premier Cricket Fourth XI skipper suspended over bizarre timed-out dismissal