'Obsessive' cricketer avoids jail but given 'final warning' by Hamilton judge

Former Auckland and Northern Districts cricketer Cody Andrews was sentenced in the Hamilton District Court today for breaching a protection order four times.

A former Auckland and Northern Districts cricketer who breached a protection order four times has avoided a jail sentence.

However, Hamilton District Court judge Philip Connell took the rare step of issuing Cody William Andrews a final warning for his offending, meaning if he ever steps back into court facing the same charges he will be sent to jail.

The 30-year-old was sentenced to nine months' supervision and 80 hours' community work in May last year after admitting assaulting his pregnant partner by biting her.

However, he was back in court in July when he admitted breaching a protection order four times involving the victim.

He admitted the charges in August with Judge Philip Connell describing his behaviour as "obsessive", warning it was possible he could go to jail.

Appearing in the dock today, the judge read his probation report, which was a positive one, and showed he had been engaging with his counsellor.

Given his positive progress, he declined to hand down a prison term and instead agreed to hand down a sentence of 240 hours' community work as indicated in an earlier sentence indication.

However, the sentence will also be judicially monitored. That will see the judge given reports of his progress every two or three months.

If it's negative, he could be brought back to court and have his sentence swapped for one of jail.

He said he understood some of the charges related to Andrews wanting to see his child but his actions - which included him climbing through a kitchen window in June - simply went too far.

The other instances of breaches included Andrews going to the victim's house and refusing to leave. In a breach in December last year, he grabbed the victim by her wrists before she wriggled free of his grip.