A Jersey and Wellington cricketer has been given community service and banned from the roads for a series of driving offences just hours after the Island team lifted the T20I Inter Insular trophy.
Nicholas Greenwood, who also received a £1,000 fine, admitted to driving without insurance, failing to provide a specimen for analysis, and failing to comply with traffic directions last month.
The offending happened after Jersey beat Guernsey with a 2-1 series win after a three-run victory in the third game. Afterwards, Greenwood went to town for drinks with his team.
The Magistrate’s Court had previously heard from Centenier Shirley Madden, who described how he was observed falling down stairs. He was taken to the police station, where he failed to produce a sample, she said.
Advocate Julia-Anne Dix warned in June that Greenwood would lose his contract in New Zealand if he wasn’t able to return by early September – including if he was serving a community service order.
Greenwood then pleaded guilty. The player was sentenced yesterday.
Relief Magistrate Sarah Fitz handed Greenwood a 130-hour community service order for failing to provide a specimen, a £1,000 fine for driving without insurance, and no separate penalty for failing to comply with traffic directions.
Greenwood was disqualified from driving for 36 months and will have to retake a Jersey driving test.
If he doesn’t comply with the community service order, Greenwood could face seven months in prison.
Despite his guilty plea, Jersey Cricket included the player in its squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier in the Netherlands in July.
CEO Sarah Gomersall said: “We acknowledge the seriousness of the situation and are disappointed that it has arisen. However, with legal proceedings ongoing, we are not in a position to comment further at this stage.”
The club added that, in determining their selection, they considered precedent set by other international cricketing bodies, including New Zealand Cricket and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), “who have in past instances permitted players facing non-cricket-related legal proceedings to continue to represent their teams”.
“Consistent with this approach, we have selected players based solely on cricketing merit,” they added in a statement.