GLEN Dawson has been banned for the rest of the season by Weymouth Cricket Club. The New Zealand fast bowler will miss the Seasider's Dorset Premier Division title run-in after a dressing room 'joke' before the top of the table clash with Colehill last weekend got out of control. Carl Brissett, Colehill's West Indian all-rounder and his team mates were offended by a picture put up in the home dressing room at Redlands by the 27-year-old Kiwi. Dawson had written 'kill the ****' across a photograph of Brissett cut from the Dorset Echo. When the visitors arrived at the ground they saw the picture through the open door of the dressing room and were furious. They informed the umpires, who removed the photograph and after the match interviewed the team captains Ben Lawes and Richard Lake. Colehill club chairman Kieron Cashell confirmed that an official complaint had been made to the Dorset League disciplinary committee. He said: "We were upset over the whole matter but it is now in the hands of the league. "We are taking legal advice, but we are not treating it as specifically racist. "None of us have seen something like this before in Cricket." With Weymouth needing to win their remaining two games to be crowned Premier Division champions, club officials have moved quickly in a bid to lesson the likelihood of points being deducted by the league. Seasiders secretary Michael Pearce said: "Weymouth Cricket Club is taking the matter very seriously and in view of what has happened, we have decided to suspend Glen Dawson for the rest of the season. "This was not a decision taken likely. Our remaining matches against Broadstone and Dorchester are two of the most important in the club's history and Glen has played a key role in our success this summer. "However, this is a serious matter and we've acted accordingly." Dawson, who has been playing for Weymouth for three years, said: "I do apologise for what I did. I realise that it was a stupid thing to do and it was not intended to harm anyone. "We thought the matter had been sorted before the game. I went and explained to Carl that it was there for a bit of a joke and apologised. "He (Brissett) is a very good player," he explained. "It was not about race at all and it was nothing to do with him as a person. "It was for a little bit of a laugh and to motivate the team. It just got out of control." Weymouth went on to thrash their title rivals by 10 wickets. "It happens in every sport at all grades throughout the world," he added.
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