Cheam Squash Club
Peaches Close • Cheam, Surrey • SM2 7BJ
Tel: +44 (0)7831 509021
Please find below an email sent from the cricket chairman about tonight's EGM
Dear Members,
Ahead of this evening's Extraordinary General Meeting, I wanted to write to you personally.
Over recent weeks members have received a number of communications from the Executive Officers explaining why this EGM has been called. As the member who is the subject of the motion, it is only fair that members also hear directly from me before reaching their own conclusions. I hope this letter assists members in understanding the background to this dispute and the questions which, in my view, deserve careful consideration before voting.
The motion before members proposed a vote that the Executive Committee commence a disciplinary process against me under Section 28.1 of the Constitution. At the last minute, this has been changed to a motion to expel me. There are two grounds – an assertion that the Cricket Section is in rent arrears and some historic complaints about me that were dealt with at this time and have been revived in support of the petition.
The background to the EGM – the attacks on Cricket Section, and the Cricket Section's position in relation to the alleged rent arrears
It is very important that members understand the context to this EGM which is that in recent months the Cricket Section has been subjected by the three Executive Officers to:
Aggressive attempts to increase Cricket's annual rent by approximately 88%.
Proposals to build 3G pitches over the cricket squares and remove the cricket practice nets.
The suspension (akin to a termination) of the entire Cricket Section.
The suspension of the Cricket Section by the three Executive Officers was made without consulting the Executive Committee in breach of the Club Rules.
As Chairman of the Cricket Section I stood up for the rights of the cricket section as I and the Cricket Section believed they were contrary to the Constitution and not in the best interests of either Cricket or Cheam Sports Club. Had I not done so, hundreds of adult members and hundreds of children would have been left without a cricketing home this summer.
The Executive Committee subsequently overturned this decision at its meeting at which it considered the issue of the alleged rent arrears by the Cricket Section and held that the Cricket Section was not in arrears and was in fact owed money.
Despite this, the Executive Officers continue to claim that Cricket is in rent arrears and that this affects the other sections and the club generally - this is not only untrue but it is divisive as it is designed to set other sections against Cricket and to influence a vote to expel me. They also ignore the fact that Cricket Section has recently paid the sum of £8,000 as the first instalment payment for this financial year 26/27 (it has paid by instalments in previous years).
As the alleged rent arrears is the first ground on which the petition against me is based, members might reasonably ask whether, having failed to remove the Cricket Section itself, attention has now simply shifted towards removing its Chairman.
Even if Cricket Section was in arrears – which it is not – this is not a basis on which to expel me as a member as I simply represent the interests of the Cricket Section. I also note that under Rule 14.1 a request to call in a section on rent arrears is made by the Executive Committee rather than the Executive Officers acting alone or the wider membership. Rent arrears by a section cannot be a legitimate ground on which to seek to expel a member or a chairman of a section.
The historic issues
At the last minute the Executive Officers have introduced evidence of historic complaints against me, many of which date back to 2023.
Contrary to recent suggestions, the Executive Officers were aware of these allegations since at least July 2024
Those matters were dealt with through the appropriate cricket processes and were then considered by Surrey Cricket which determined that they had been appropriately dealt with by the Cricket Committee. To assist I attach Surrey Cricket Foundation's recent correspondence confirming that position.
The Executive Officers themselves have recently acknowledged that Surrey Cricket had already considered those matters and that they respected Surrey's conclusions.
I ask members to consider why - if those complaints genuinely justify an Extraordinary General Meeting, one was not sought in 2023 by the complainants and forty members of the Cricket Section? And why are members from every section are now being asked to consider matters arising from historical complaints within Cricket that were already considered and resolved long ago?
The role of the Executive Officers
Executive Officers occupy positions of trust and responsibility. Members might reasonably expect them to facilitate an Extraordinary General Meeting fairly and impartially.
Instead, the Executive Officers have circulated a series of communications commenting upon the evidence, endorsing material supporting the petition and presenting only one side of the issues.
Despite requests to the Executive Officers, they have provided no information to me about the petition. As members consider the motion before them, I respectfully suggest the following questions are worth reflecting upon.
Who drafted the petition and what information was passed on to the signatories?
Were signatories informed that Surrey Cricket had already investigated the complaints and concluded that they had been appropriately dealt with?
Were signatories informed that many of the complaints relate to events some three years ago involving individuals who are no longer members of the Club?
Members may therefore ask whether Executive Officers should act as advocates for one side of a dispute or whether their constitutional role is to remain neutral. If neutrality is expected, are they the appropriate people to chair this meeting?
As the communications circulated in support of this EGM rely on two issues which have already been determined (the alleged rent arrears by the Executive Committee and the historic allegations by Surrey Cricket), Members will want to consider whether this EGM is really the result of a disagreement over governance and constitutional process between myself and the Cricket Section and the three current Executive Officers.
The Club Rules and Constitution
The Cricket Section and I have many concerns that this EGM does not comply with the Constitution, including the last minute switch that members vote to expel me when the proper forum for expelling a member under the Constitution is for the Executive Committee the power to commence disciplinary proceedings under Section 28.
The Cricket Section is also concerned that many of its members will be deprived of their right to vote. Under Rule 16.4, where the Executive Officers call a ballot, that ballot must take place over the fourteen days following the EGM and must be a ballot of all Full Members entitled to vote — not only those able to attend in person on the night. A same-evening ballot, closed and announced in the room, does not follow that process and risks excluding entitled members who cannot attend.
This EGM concerns more than one individual. The constitutional safeguards within Cheam Sports Club exist to protect every section equally. If constitutional processes are not followed consistently, every section has an interest in asking why. Today the issue concerns Cricket. Tomorrow it could concern Tennis, Hockey, Squash, Bowls or any other section.
Cheam Cricket Club governs itself democratically. Cricket members elect their Committee and, if they lose confidence in any committee member, they already possess the constitutional power to remove them. Members may therefore ask whether the leadership of the Cricket Section is properly a matter for Cricket members or for members of other sections.
My position
No person or organisation is perfect and I do not suggest that every decision I have made has been universally popular. Leadership inevitably involves difficult decisions and reasonable people will sometimes disagree.
However, disagreement over coaching, captaincy or leadership is fundamentally different from conduct warranting expulsion from a members' club.
Throughout this dispute I have sought to defend what I believed were the constitutional rights of the Cricket Section and its members. Some Members may disagree with my position, but standing up for constitutional process, natural justice and proper governance should never, of itself, become grounds for disciplinary action.
I respectfully suggest that members should also consider whether those responsible for bringing the Club to this position have themselves discharged their own constitutional duties appropriately. Questions have repeatedly been asked regarding the constitutional basis upon which decisions were taken, the authority under which they were made and the governance processes followed – many of these questions remain unanswered. Members may therefore ask themselves whether confidence in the Executive Officers has been strengthened or weakened by the manner in which these events have been handled. It is a question for every member of Cheam Sports Club who deserve clear answers.
Closing remarks
All I want is for Cheam Sports Club can move forward with stronger governance, greater transparency and renewed trust between all sections.
Whatever your view of me personally, I simply ask that you consider all of the information available, reflect carefully upon the questions raised above and reach your own independent conclusion.
Thank you for taking the time to read this statement.
Dr Safeer Butt
Chairman
29/06/2026
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