HEMINGBROUGH Cricket Club's legal bid to get their first team re-instated to the Hunters the estate agent York and District Cricket League has failed.

The decision not to re-elect Hemingbrough made by the member clubs at the league's annual meeting has been confirmed by the High Court in London.

Hemingbrough mounted a legal campaign to get their senior side back in the league this summer and took the matter to the High Court.

Officers from the league travelled to the capital for the hearing, although no member of the club was present.

Hemingbrough withdrew its High Court application for immediate reinstatement to the league whose season starts on April 29. But the club still intend to pursue thier case.

The final hearing of the action, however, is not expected to come to trial until the middle of the summer.

However, Mr Justice Tugenhat sitting in London, ruled that three Hemingbrough members, Stephen Priestley, Ryon Adamson and David Milburn, who were appointed to represent the club, must be responsible for payment of the league's costs which are thought to be in the region of £6,000.

Hemingbrough's application arose out of a vote at the league's AGM last November which overwhelmingly rejected the club's application for re-election to the League.

The village club's first team had hoped to clinch a third successive promotion last season and reach the premier division. But they were docked 60 points, fined £250 and deducted 250 merit points last season for administrative offences, including two matters relating to two overseas players' registration. That put them under the minimum acceptable rating in the merit table which meant they had to seek re-election.

Club officials issued a statement at that time claiming they felt victimised by the decision and believed there had been a campaign to kick them out of the league with racism as a possible factor behind their failure to get re-elected.

The club issued court proceedings for an order declaring that the Senior League League committee had acted outside its powers in requiring the club to apply for re-election at the AGM.

Albert Pattison, managing secretary of the Senior League, said: "We have acted in accordance with the League's rules from the outset. It is hugely regrettable that certain members of the Hemingbrough club seem intent on pursuing this matter. All we can say, at this stage, is that at an Extraordinary General Meeting of the League last Sunday, we received a unanimous vote of confidence in defending these proceedings.

"In addition, we shall take all necessary steps to recover our costs from those who are responsible for pursuing these proceedings against us"."

He added: "While the league committee was pleased that the judge directed that the costs of the abortive application would be paid by the three Hemingbrough CC nominees, it does feel that the money involved could have been better spent on promoting the game of cricket."

Hemingbrough have entered two sides, a new first team and their second team, in the HPH York Vale League for next season.

Updated: 09:58 Thursday, March 23, 2006