Rules of Play

The normal laws of cricket as followed by The MCC and The Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers will apply, save for any exceptions listed below. The League shall consist of a Premier Division and a number of other divisions as agreed upon by the League committee, who shall also decide upon the number of teams in each division.

All divisions must wear coordinated colour kit. Any player/s not wearing team “coordinated kit colours” will not be allowed to participate in the match.

• All matches are to be of a maximum of 80 overs, a maximum of 40 overs played by each side.
• All overs shall be of 6 legitimate balls and each bowler shall have a maximum of 8 overs.
• Each & every no-ball will be followed by a free hit, on which a batsman can not be dismissed by any method other than run out. The fielding team is not allowed to change the field for the free hit, if the batsman who received the original no-ball is on strike. If another batsman is now the striker, the field may change. In Divisions 2 and below, this only applies to front foot no balls.
• Power Play: First 8 overs of an inning, maximum 2 fielders are allowed outside the 30 yards circle. Subsequently in a T20 fixture, power play will consist of first 4 overs of an inning.
• All matches are to be played on Sundays, as advised by the League Secretary.
• It shall be up to both teams to confirm the match, venue and directions with each other by at least Friday midnight before the Sunday game. The home team shall be responsible for ensuring that the pitch is cut, marked, playable and their booked venue is within 15 miles radius of their registered home town.
• Any Player(s) arriving later than 1 hour after the game has started cannot play.
• All clubs must complete their full allocation of matches for the season (weather permitting). Any club failing to fulfil a fixture (except in the case of the death of a team member) shall be deducted 18 points for the current season and a further 18 points for the following season. They will also receive a financial penalty as outlined in the Fines and Other Charges.
• No matches are to be re-scheduled.
• All matches during the month of Ramadhan are to be of 40 overs, a maximum of 20 overs played by each side. All Ramadhan T20 matches shall start at 2pm, rather than 1pm.
• Outside the power play, a maximum of 5 fielders will be allowed to be outside the 30 yard circle.

• Each game shall start at 1:00pm (weather permitting).

• The teams shall spin up at least 10 minutes before the start of the game, and failure by either team to comply with this shall result in forfeiting the Toss.
• If any team is not changed and ready to start the match by 1pm then the team will lose one over for every five minutes it is late.
• All T20 fixtures in Ramadan will start at 2pm.
• Matches shall be (with the agreement of both sides) permitted to start at 2pm, where grounds are not available before 2pm. No match shall start after 2pm unless delayed by weather.
• 40 overs must be bowled by 4pm (or 5.00pm for a 2.00pm start) unless interrupted by bad weather or where the match started late due to a team arriving late. Otherwise the team batting first shall bat the full 40 overs and the team batting second will only bat the overs that it bowled up to 4.00pm or 5.00pm whichever case is applicable.
• Any team failing to fulfil three consecutive fixtures shall be suspended from the league until ALL outstanding fines have been cleared.

If rain or bad weather/light delays the start of a game or interrupts a game already in progress, then the captains of both the teams shall negotiate to reduce the overs accordingly unless a neutral umpire is present then he shall decide. In such cases the rule of one over for every five minutes of time lost shall apply.

A revised target is to be calculated using the Duckworth/Lewis Method. This is to be done using the “D/L Calculator” on the “Play-Cricket Scorer” App. Full instructions can be found on the League website.

For a DLS calculation to decide the result of a match, a minimum of 20 overs must have been bowled in the 2nd innings of the match.

For a DLS calculation to set a revised target for the 2nd innings, following a break in play, a minimum of 20 overs must be scheduled.

THE MATCH MUST BE COMPLETED OR NO RESULT/DRAW WILL BE RECORDED BY TEAMS.

Teams are advised not to decide to stop play on their own but agree with the opposition captain of the other side unless a neutral umpire is present then he shall decide. Umpire’s decision is final.

The time taken for tea shall be 20 minutes unless otherwise agreed by both captains. Every home team in the Premier Division must provide acceptable refreshments at the tea interval for the opposition, including tea/water/soft drinks. The away teams are advised to take additional liquid refreshments on match days when the weather is exceptionally warm/cold. Legitimate complaints received by the League Committee regarding the provision of tea by the home team shall be dealt with in a similar fashion to other complaints, as outlined elsewhere in these rules. In all Divisions, Home team will make tea arrangements for the away team.

Two new white league regulation balls will be used by all divisions (one new ball per inning) each team providing a ball.

The League Committee shall appoint neutral umpires to all Premier division games.(neutral umpires will be appointed by the umpire coordinator(1st div teams will be on standby if cover is required)

For all other Divisions teams will send a competent umpire to their relevant division to be umpired

• Teams must contact the vice treasurer by Thursday evening if they find problems contacting clubs to which they are required to delegate umpires to otherwise appropriate penalties as defined by current umpiring proposal will be applied if umpires are not sent.
• The allocated umpires must arrive at their matches before it starts. If for a legitimate reason the umpire is delayed he must inform the teams by 12.45pm of why he is late and how long it will take him to get there. If the umpire fails to inform at least one team that he is delayed, the teams have the right not to accept him when he does arrive. In the event of an umpire having informed the clubs that he will be late, arrives after 10 overs have been FULLY completed, the teams have the right not to accept him. Both captains must be in agreement of accepting the umpire. All applicable disciplines will affect the rejected umpires club as defined in the current umpiring proposal.
• Any person acting as a neutral umpire at a SESCL match, and doing so on behalf of a club whose responsibility it is to provide an umpire at that match – must be registered as a player with that club and must be over the age of 18. Unless he has been appointed otherwise by the SESCL committee.
• Umpires should carry their SESCL ID cards with them to the match. If asked to produce this it must be shown to both captains. If an umpire fails to produce his SESCL ID card he can be rejected. The card must be asked for before the umpire begins his duties, and not at any point thereafter. The umpire is not obliged to produce the ID card if asked after having started umpiring.
• The said umpire shall have total authority over the game and his decision shall be final. In such games the batting side shall provide the square leg umpire and each team shall bear ½ the cost of the neutral umpires fee, as advised by the League Committee. In matches where no neutral umpires are present, the captain of the batting side shall be responsible for providing both umpires and must consider their umpiring abilities and knowledge of the game when doing so.
• An umpiring match report will be submitted detailing/confirming results of game umpired and notes of any incidents
• Any club, who fails to fulfil their allocated umpiring, will be deducted 18 points from their final total and in addition to that they will start their next season with -18 points.
• Each team shall provide their own scorer.

All playing members of all League clubs must be bona fide members and registered with the League.

• Every player must be registered via the Player Registration Portal.
• It shall be the responsibility of every club captain to keep the online ID cards of his team correct and up to date.
• Each captain must inspect the online ID cards of the opposing team before the match starts. Any team found to have played an unregistered player irrespective of a complaint being raised against it, will be penalised with -18 points penalty and a £50 fine.
• Any player registering during the season must be registered via the Player Registration Portal before he can play in any League game.
• Maximum 30 players per team are allowed to be registered at any given time.

If players wish to transfer between clubs, their new club must complete an online transfer request on the Player Registration Portal. This will then have to be confirmed by their existing club (or the league committee in the case of a dispute).

• One Player One Transfer applies per season, other than transfers between the 1st and 2nd XIs of the same club.
• No transfer of players from any existing club to new club for 1st 12 months of entry.
• No club shall refuse any player requesting a transfer without due cause and will ensure that no unnecessary delay is caused in approving the transfer online. Such a player cannot take part in any League game until the transfer has been confirmed online, and his ID card appears in the squad list for his new club.
• No transfer shall take place after the 30th of June in any season.
• Players may transfer multiple times between the 1st and 2nd XI of the same club. However, a transfer form and fee will still be required on each occasion, and no such intra-club transfers can take place after the 31st July in any given season. In addition, when a club’s 1st XI do not have a fixture (eg, due to an umpiring week or cancelled fixture), for that week only there will be no transfers permitted from 1st XI to 2nd XI.
• Player is free to join any club if he has not featured in any league fixture for his registered club for over an year. A transfer form is still required.

All clubs/players are subject to the above rules. Any club/player found breaking these rules shall be dealt with appropriately.

No Professional players are allowed to play in any of the SESCL divisions or Tournaments, with the exception of 1 player per squad for Premier Division teams. Clubs are responsible to carry out their due diligence when registering a player. They may ask league committee for assistance with players vetting. A player is deemed to be a professional player if he has played First Class, List A or List A T20 cricket within the last 5 years, expect for a “Homegrown professional player”. A “homegrown professional player” is someone who has played any SESCL league game before playing any First Class, List A or List A T20 cricket. Such a player is eligible to play in Division 2 or above.

Everyone else is eligible to play.

• In the Premier Division only, each team will be allowed to register 1 professional player. Ie, one player who has played First Class, List A or List A T20 within the last 5 years. (+ any “Homegrown professional players”)
• In Divisions 1 & 2 any “Homegrown professional player” is eligible to play.
• In Divisions 3 and below, no professional players of any description. (a player is deemed to be a professional player if he has played First Class, List A or List A T20 cricket within the last 5 years)

• Clubs are responsible for managing their own finances. League has no bearing on the club or player subs fees nor will League entertain or consider any complaints concerning player’s subs in any matter.
• SESCL is an amateur cricket league therefore prohibits the sale of any player and clubs.
• Venue for the fixtures must be booked in advance by the clubs. Teams are barred from changing their venue on the day.
• Club / Team cannot change their registered home town. Such change would perceive the team losing their position in their respective division resulting in automatic demotion to the lowest division in the league divisions’ hierarchy. (ref Membership – Constitution)
• Any team forfeiting 3 fixtures during a season shall loose its league membership and security deposit.

The League Committee shall award points on the following basis:

Win 18 points

Loss 0 points

Tie 9 points

Draw 9 points (Match cancelled or abandoned)

No bonus points awarded in any of league fixtures.

• Conceding a match (except in the case of the death of a team member) -18 points (also -18 points for the following season)
• Failure to attend a compulsory knockout tournament -18 points (fine also applies)

All umpires shall apply the basic rule for a wide ball together with three adjustments as follows:

Basic rule: If the bowler bowls the ball so wide of the wicket that, in the opinion of the umpire, it passes out of reach of the striker, standing in a normal guard position, the umpire shall call and signal wide ball as soon as it has passed the line of the strikers wicket.

Premier and First division Only*

It is compulsory for the teams playing in the Premier and First division of SESCL to insure that the ground/s they have booked to play their Home fixtures at, must have dedicated changing room facilities for the players. Failure to comply will see Home team getting 0 points for their subjected fixture irrespective what the outcome of their match may be. In these divisions, no “park pitches” are allowed.

A complete scorecard must be submitted via Play-Cricket no later than 10pm on the Wednesday following the Sunday fixture. Any club failing to comply with this rule will be docked 2 points. This sanction will also be applied to any scorecards not filled in correctly.

The neutral umpires shall award fair play points to the teams. Games where no neutral umpires are present; each captain will award the fair play points, i.e. the home team will award points to the away team and vice versa. Neutral umpires must complete the box for fair play award, on the match reports for both sides. Umpires must do this in a responsible fashion bearing in mind the sportsmanship of the opposition throughout the whole of the game and not on just a few isolated incidents. Where a fair play award of 5 points or less is being awarded, a written report about the behaviour of the team involved must be sent to the League Secretary. Fair play points shall be accumulated and averaged out at the end of the season and the team with the highest average in each division shall be rewarded as determined by the League committee.

These shall be determined for each division on a total points basis. In the event of a number of clubs having equal points, the final position of the clubs shall be decided as follows:

• The highest position shall be awarded to the club recording the most League wins in the season.
• If there is still equality the highest position shall be awarded to the club recording the fewest League losses in the season.
• If there is still equality, the Net Run Rate (as calculated on Play-Cricket) will be used to determine league position.

Promotion and relegation from one division to another shall normally be on a two-up, two-down basis unless in exceptional circumstances where the League Committee may decide otherwise.

Promotion to the Premier Division shall be subject to the League Committee being satisfied with the club’s facilities. Promotion to any other division shall be subject to the clubs disciplinary record for the season ended, its overall fair play score for the season and immediate payment of any outstanding dues to the League.

Two teams representing the same club cannot be promoted to the same division due to conflict of interest.

The League Committee shall arrange all knock-out tournaments. SESCL will hold no more than two knock-out tournaments, in any season. One tournament will be compulsory and one optional. The League Committee shall decide on the following for each tournament:

• Whether it is open to all or restricted to just League clubs and/or registered players.
• The format for play in each tournament.
• The umpires to be used in each match.

All other conditions of play shall be as outlined in the Rules of Play and the League Committee will deal severely with any player/club found misbehaving during any knock-out tournament, on or off the pitch.

Failure to attend a compulsory knockout tournament will see teams deducted 18 league points and fined.

• Unfair play: Any team found to be involved in unfair play i.e. in some way cheating in umpiring, scoring or in any other way, shall be severely reprimanded and dealt with as seen fit by the League Committee.
• Misconduct: The League condemns all violence and verbal abuse, on or off the pitch, between any club members (own or opposition), towards umpires or involving scorers and/or supporters. In the event of any such misconduct the League Committee shall not hesitate in taking serious actions as it sees fit.
• Side walking off or refusing to complete match; Any side walking off without agreement of other sides captain or refusing to complete a match will be fined and deducted 18 points.
• Abusing Committee Member: Any individual(s) and or club(s) found to be guilty of physical and or verbal abuse of committee member(s) could be fined and or banned from playing league matches.
• Abusing any Umpires: Any individual(s) and or club(s) found to be guilty of abusing of any umpire during or after the match could be fined or banned from playing league matches.

A £30.00 complaint fee must accompany any complaint/s forwarded to the League Committee and then the Committee, at the next scheduled Committee meeting, may consider this complaint. All evidence forwarded shall be taken into account and if the offence is not too serious then the Committee shall render a decision and impose a penalty fit for the offence. If the complaint is deemed serious, then the Committee shall filter these complaints through to a Disciplinary Committee with all the necessary documentation and evidence at hand for them to consider.