Hawkinge insist they will not ‘simply accept’ their expulsion from the Kent Village Cricket League amid claims of not playing within the spirit of the game.

The KVL Management Committee chose to expel the Division 1 side after a series of allegations against the club made at last month’s annual meeting – from which Hawkinge were banned from attending because they were serving a three-month suspension.

Hawkinge were denied the KVL title on the final day of the season after being deducted 24 points in the final week for twice fielding guest players in victories earlier in the season – the penalty left Hawkinge sixth, 21 points behind Wingham.

A statement from the KVL Management Committee said: "A number of clubs (at the AGM) reported on their experiences in matches against Hawkinge (and) a significant majority of these expressed serious concerns regarding the way in which Hawkinge played its cricket.

"Fundamentally, they were not enjoyable encounters and it was clear that Hawkinge did not uphold the spirit of the league."

Phil Payne, of Hawkinge’s cricket committee, said: "We’re not going to sit back and accept it. We were suspended from the league for three months so we couldn’t attend the AGM where other teams apparently made these allegations and we didn’t have the opportunity to counter those accusations

"We have exchanged communications with the league but there is no right of appeal."

However, Mr Payne revealed that the club will now take their case to the Kent Cricket Board.

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