Rules

for the Junior Grade

Before the start of play:

All games start at 8.30am every Saturday and finish about 11.30am. Teams should assemble by 8:15am.
Games are played at Trentham Memorial Park (TMP) and Erewhon (see map). Arrange a muster point for your team at each ground. This is especially important for the first few games.
Cancellations will be broadcast on NewsTalkZB as “Hutt Valley Junior Cricket”, or the convenor will ring the managers/coaches. If you do not get a phone call assume the game is on.
If a round of cricket is cancelled that round in the draw is skipped and we proceed with the next date.
Clothing - All children should be encouraged to wear white/cream or other light coloured clothing.
Hats - Wear one - Junior Cricket Upper Hutt caps are available for $25 each.
A “hard” ball is used on a 18 metre pitch. Boundaries should be approximately 35m from the centre of the pitch. Mark the boundary with pegs, cones, or small flags.
Just before the game elect your captain of the day. Captains from opposing teams toss a coin to elect which team bats first.
Unless otherwise stated in these playing conditions the normal rules of cricket apply.
Coaches are to agree these rules and playing conditions before play commences.

Batting:

Batsman must wear helmets, pads and groin protectors when batting.
Each innings is to be a maximum of 25 overs.
The maximum number of dismissals per side is 10. If a team of 9 is playing a team of 11, 10 players must be dismissed from each batting side. In this case one player can bat twice even if previously dismissed. Coaches of perennially short teams must rotate the extra batter.
The coach must retire a batter after they have faced their 24th ball or reached 24 runs
Batters are retired at the end of the over in which they have faced their 24th ball or reached 24 runs
A retired batter can resume their innings provided: All other batters have been dismissed or have been retired, he/she is batted in the order he/she is retired and the team has lost less than 10 wickets
There are 5 ways for the batter to go out - bowled, caught, run out, stumped and hit wicket. There are no LBWs.
A batter cannot be dismissed on the first ball they face in their first innings only. A batter can be out first ball in a supplementary innings.
Batters are out stumped if no part of their person is grounded behind the popping crease when the bails are removed. If a batter has part of their person in the popping crease but not grounded behind it the batter is out. A batter cannot be stumped off a no ball.
One warning only for a 'hit wicket' per player thereafter they can be dismissed.
Byes and leg byes are allowed and scored as ‘extras’.
For leg byes the batter must attempt a shot for the byes to be counted. If no shot is attempted and the batters attempt a run they must be sent back. For byes it is not necessary to attempt a shot.
Once a team has lost 10 wickets, it is considered dismissed. If playing a team of 12 for the 12th player to bat, one batter must have retired.
The team batting last is to continue batting until its 25 overs are completed, or the team has been dismissed. Passing of the opposition's total does not signal the end of the game.
A batter can hit a ‘4’ or a ‘6’ and if signalled by the umpire will be recorded as such. The umpire at the bowlers end (not the umpire at square leg) is the only one to call boundaries. The umpire at the square leg can signal no balls, stumped and run-outs only.

Bowling:

A 142g two-piece cricket ball is to be used.
Bowling is to be carried out from both ends of the wicket.
Each player (including the wicket keeper) must bowl at least two overs -. Coaches may choose to bowl their bowlers two overs at the same time (from the same end). However no bowler should bowl 3 overs at the same time.
All overs are 6 balls only with a maximum of 3 overs per player.
A coach must not put up his best bowlers all at the start of the innings to try and dismiss a team cheaply. Coaches should match better bowlers with better batters, or alternatively rotate a randomly picked bowling order.

Wides:

A wide shall be called if the ball passes outside the junction of the popping crease and the return crease on both sides of the wicket (as shown below) and is not hit by the batter.
All wides in an over are to be called. A wide ball is not to be rebowled.
Wides are scored as an extra run to the batting side. If the batting team scores off wides (when the wicket keeper misses the ball) or no balls (either from the bat, or byes/leg byes), those runs are to be added to the score as well. So, a no ball from which a batter hits a boundary would result in five runs to the batting team, four to the batter and one to extras.
If the ball is hit it is NOT a wide.

Byes:

If the ball is not hit by the batter and the batters run then the run(s) are recorded against the batter’s name.

No Balls:

A no ball shall be called by the square leg umpire if the ball passes over the shoulder of the batter on the bounce when the batter is in his/her normal stance, or when the ball passes over the waist of the batter on the full when the batter is in his/her normal stance.
A no ball shall be called by the square leg umpire if, after the ball is bowled, it bounces at least twice before reaching the popping crease. (The popping crease is the line 1.22m in front of the stumps). If a delivery does not reach the batter, he/she is permitted to have one free hit at the ball.
There are no front or back foot no balls at Junior Grade.
A no ball MUST be judged relative to the batters NORMAL stance not once he/she moves to the ball.
Should in the opinion of the umpires a bowler be persisting with dangerous bowling, the umpires may prohibit that player from any further bowling in that innings.
No balls count as an extra run to the batting side.
A no ball is called if the batter hits it or not.

Fielding:

If the teams are of uneven number fielders should be loaned to the ‘short’ team. Normally they would not bowl. Alternatively if a child wishes to play the whole game for the opposition and the coaches agree this should be applauded.
Players are to field in positions. There is no need to change a player’s position at the end of each over.
No fielders except the wicket keeper and off-side slips are permitted within 10 metres of the facing batter This is a safety rule and must be complied with.
Wicket keepers must wear all the protective equipment i.e. pads, gloves, groin protector and helmet. This is a safety rule and must be complied with.
Run-outs are credited to the team not the bowler.
The ‘non-striker’ may be run-out by the bowler for leaving his crease too early (excess ‘backing-up’) before the bowler has bowled the ball. However this can only be given following one warning to the non-striker.
Stumpings – a player may given out “Stumped” if they are out of their ground (no part of the body grounded behind the popping crease) when the bails are removed by the wicketkeeper.

Umpiring:

Treat the game as a coaching session. Applaud good play from both teams and with reason correct any poor technique.

At the End of Play:

At the end of the game each team should line up to congratulate the other team.

Safety First: - all coaches MUST enforce

The 10 metre rule.
The use of protective pads, gloves, groin protectors and helmets for batters and wicketkeepers as outlined above.
Be sun-smart - encourage the use of sunscreen, and hats.
Encourage all children to bring a drink bottle to the game.