MCC Spirit of Cricket Under 13 National Club Championship
COMPETITION RULES
1. Title
The title of the Competition shall be the ECB Under 13 National Club Championship for the Ken
Barrington Cup.
2. Management
The control of the Competition shall be undertaken by the ECB Schools, Junior & Youth Sub-Group
and all decisions relating to these rules or to matches played in the Competition shall be final and
binding on all concerned.
3. Entry
3.1 County: Entries must be made by 1st September in the year prior to the Competition. Counties who participated in the previous year's competition shall automatically be included in the Competition for the following year unless written notification to the contrary is given by 1st September in the year prior to the Competition.
3.2 Clubs: Each club must apply to enter their county competition by the date specified by their County Board. Counties must submit a list of competing clubs and contact addresses each year to the ECB Cricket Department by the date specified by the ECB Schools, Junior & Youth Sub-Group.
4. Competition Structure
4.1 County: The Competition shall be organised on a county basis and each County Board shall organise their own competition to determine a winner to enter the National stages of the Competition. All arrangements for county competitions shall be the responsibility of each County Board and must be completed and reported to the ECB Cricket Department in accordance with the timetable specified by the ECB Schools, Junior & Youth Sub-Group. The name and contact of the winning club in each county competition must be immediately notified to the ECB Cricket Department.
4.2 Regional Finals: The winning team from each county competition shall qualify for the Regional Finals. All arrangements for the Regional Finals shall be undertaken by Regional Organisers who shall be appointed annually by the ECB Schools, Junior & Youth Sub-Group. The Regional Final shall be organised with four teams playing two semi-finals, one Regional Final and a third/fourth place play-off. The County Boards involved in each region may be drawn to play a preliminary round to reduce the number of participating counties at the Regional Final to four.
4.3 National Finals: The winning team from each of the eight Regional Finals shall participate in the National Finals which take place over four days as a residential cricket festival. All arrangements for the National Finals shall be made by the ECB Cricket Department.
5. Eligibility
The Competition shall be open to all clubs, which are affiliated to the England & Wales Cricket Board through their County Board. Clubs should enter the competition of the county in which they are physically located (as per the ECB cricketing county boundaries as currently defined). If a club wishes to enter the competition of another county for reasons of easier travel or historical precedent, or because their County Board does not enter the National Competition, this can be arranged provided that the permission of the home County Board is obtained. Such permission should not be unreasonably withheld. A club may enter one or more teams but Rule 6 will apply in so far as each team will be considered as a separate club
6. Qualification of Players
A player may represent a club in the Competition if they are under 13 years of age at midnight on 31st
August prior to the season of the Competition. All players must be bona-fide Junior Members of the club they represent. A player may play for only one club in the competition in any one season.
7. Cricket Balls
Each County Board shall determine the supply of cricket balls for their own county competitions. The
ECB shall be responsible for supplying cricket balls for the Regional and National Finals.
8. Helmets
Any player playing in this Competition must wear a helmet when batting and when standing up to the stumps when keeping wicket unless prior written consent has been given by a parent or guardian. The Umpires must be provided with a team sheet before the start of the match identifying any player who has parental consent not to wear a helmet.
9. Umpires
Each County Board shall be responsible for the appointment of umpires in each county competition
and preliminary round. The ECB shall appoint all umpires for Regional and National Finals. All
appointments should be made in conjunction with the local Association of Cricket Umpires & Scorers.
10. Finance
Each county will receive £5 for each team participating in their county competition. Travel expenses
will be paid to each club in Preliminary Rounds, Regional and National Finals, subject to a completed
claim form being submitted by 30th September in the year of the competition.
11. Match Results
11.1 County & Preliminary Rounds: Each club must forward the result of their match to their County Board immediately following the completion of each match.
11.2 Regional and National Finals: Each club must hand a completed result sheet to the ECB/Regional Organiser immediately following each of their matches.
PLAYING CONDITIONS
The Laws of Cricket shall apply with the following exceptions:
1. In all matches:
1.1 The pitch shall be 21 yards in length.
1.2 The ball shall weigh 4.75 ounces.
1.3 The stumps shall be 27 inches above the ground and 8 inches wide.
1.4 Matches shall consist of one innings per side.
1.5 Each innings shall be a maximum of 20 overs in duration.
1.6 No bowler shall bowl more than four overs in a match.
1.7 When a batsman reaches or passes the personal total of 30 runs they must retire and will not be allowed to return.
1.8 The team scoring the most runs in it's innings shall be the winner.
1.9 No fielder, except the wicket-keeper, shall be allowed to field nearer than 11 yards, measured from the middle stump, except behind the wicket on the offside.
2. In County Competitions:
The procedure for arriving at the winner should the scores be equal shall be determined by each
County Board.
3. Preliminary Rounds:
3.1 In the event of the scores of each team being equal the winner shall be determined as follows:
3.1.1 The team which has taken the greater number of wickets.
3.1.2 If still equal, the side with the highest score at the end of 19 overs, if still equal, the score at the end of 18 overs, 17 overs, etc.
3.1.3 If still equal, 5 players shall be nominated to bowl alternatively at the wickets from the bowler's end and the team scoring the most hits shall be the winner. In the event of the number of hits being equal, the above 5 bowlers shall be nominated to bowl alternatively in a sudden death bowl-out, until a winner has been achieved.
3.2 In the event of a rain curtailed match:
3.2.1 The match can be rearranged, if before the original game has been started, both sides can
mutually agree a reserve date BEFORE the deadline date of that round.
3.2.2 Or, if weather permits, the winner shall be decided by a bowl-out, as defined in 3.1.3 above.
3.2.3 Or, if a bowl-out is not possible the winner shall be decided by the toss of a coin.
4. Regional Finals:
4.1 In the event of the scores of each team being equal the winner shall be determined as in 3.1 above.
4.2 In the event of a rain curtailed match:
4.2.1 The match MUST be replayed on the reserve date laid down by ECB.
4.2.2 If weather curtails the reserve date, the winner shall be decided by a bowl-out, as defined in 3.1.3
above.
4.2.3 Or, if a bowl-out is not possible the winner shall be decided by the toss of a coin.
5. National Finals:
5.1 Matches in the National Finals will be played on a league basis with each team playing each other once.
5.2 The winning team of each match shall score 10 points. In the event of an abandoned match, each team shall score 5 points.
5.3 In the event of two or more teams finishing with an equal number of points, their league positions shall be determined using net run-rate during the matches played at the Finals (legitimate balls faced divided by runs scored).
