League News

With the season just eleven days away, here is a brief update on Umpires for 2022. David Root has assigned as many umpires as he can to NECL Division 1, Division 2 and T20 matches. In some cases he has not been able to allocate umpires, and clubs will have to umpire between themselves. These appointments are visible on the Umpires tab, Umpire Appointments for April and May, as are contact numbers for the umpires. The cost of an umpire has increased in 2022 to £40, to be paid on the day preferably by cash, but if that is not possible by cheque. We appreciate clubs are generally moving to online systems for collection of match fees, and umpires may be happy to be paid by BACS, but if that is not the case and not all people want to give out bank details, then please be prepared to pay in cash or by cheque. Where one umpire is standing the clubs will share the cost, so £20 each.  Secondly, with Covid restrictions still in mind some clubs may be reticent in providing teas. At the AGM it was decided that it should be up to the home club [...Continue Reading]

A reminder about league rules and protocols around match cancellations A Division 1 club has recently experienced problems with successive cancellations by opponents, so I should like to remind clubs of the rules and expectations, if they need to call a game off. Rule 15A requires any away club failing to fulfil a fixture (other than for bad weather) without giving the home team 36 hours notice before the start-time to pay the home club £30 (or more, if its reasonable wasted expenses are higher. Rule 15B requires any club unable to fulfil a league fixture due to lack of players to inform their opponents (and the league) by 10pm on the day before the game. If not, they will incur a £25 fine and a 10 point deduction, unless the Management Committee determine otherwise. The League also expects its member clubs to show proper consideration to away teams when calling off a game due to bad weather. If possible, a decision should be made and communicated to the away team in time to avoid unnecessary travel. We would expect such contact to be via a direct phone call rather than an email which may not be picked up [...Continue Reading]

Play Cricket Instructions For those new to the process of adding scorecards, or new players to Play-Cricket, please find attached instructions. It would be better to encourage players to register with Play Cricket, and then join the club(s) they are playing for, so there are not multiple instances on the same player within the system. Add-Results-And-Scorecards.pdf

It has been brought to the attention of the League Committee that there have been a couple of occurrences already this season where when a match has been conceded, the standing neutral umpires have not been notified, and have subsequently turned up to the ground on a wasted journey! If a game is conceded can the home side please contact Umpires as a priority, if the away side has conceded it would be courteous for them to also make the umpire(s) aware. Any failure to do this going forward this season, will result in the home side having to pay the standing Umpire(s) any wasted expenses.

I am pleased to say that the revised League Rules as agreed by the Management Committee have now been published on the website, ahead of the 2018 season. Can be viewed here. There are a number of changes from previous rules, particularly regarding the change to the points system, re-arranging conceded games, updated T20 rules for shortened games. Please ensure captains in particular are acquainted with the rules, prior to the first games. A brief reminder of the following rules; Umpire Assessment Forms - should be completed by all teams in Div 1, Div 2 and T20 where neutral umpires stand - points deductions can occur if not done in a timely manner. Sightscreens - should be at all Div 1 and Div 2 grounds - dispensation is given for the first season for a side being promoted from Div 3. Balls - a new ball will be provided by both teams in Div 1 for each innings. In Div 2 and Div 3, a new ball will be provided by the home team and will be used for the duration of the match. Rule 29 and 29A - Submitting match results on the day of the game, and then completing Play-Cricket scorecard within [...Continue Reading]

With the new season rapidly approaching it might be a good time to remind everyone of player expectations on the field. Especially with regard to Law 42 and possible sanctions that can be imposed. Follow the link to the ECB presentation.

With just over two weeks to the start of the season, the 2018 NECL fixtures for both the 40 over and T20 competitions have now been loaded onto Play-Cricket. Can Club Play-Cricket Administrators please look at getting your new players loaded onto the system ahead of the 2018 season. Remember a player can get a better experience of their own stats if they register personally with Play-Cricket. Play-Cricket have also released this week a 'FREE' laptop scoring solution for the 2018 season called Play-Cricket Scorer Pro, which will be compatible with Play-Cricket, thereby saving data entry after the game. I have downloaded it this morning, and early impressions are that it ticks all the boxes. To download Play-Cricket Scorer Pro follow the link https://play-cricket.com/updates3

Just a reminder, in general the HOME side should contact the neutral umpires in the event of match being cancelled through a concession. However, it may be courteous if the conceding side also let the umpires know. If you cannot contact the umpires, please inform the Umpire Appointments Officer David Root (01376 583819 or 07981 731291) - failure to let the umpires or David Root know, may incur the umpires expenses if they travel on the day ! As well as their wrath. While we are dealing with Umpires, remember that all First and Second Division Clubs MUST submit an Umpire Assessment (available on the website), marking the standing umpires, by the Friday following the game - failure to do so could result in a five point deduction. There are still some clubs who have failed to submit assessments in the first few weeks. I have not implemented the rule strictly yet to ensure that all clubs have got the message, but from the first week of June there will be no excuse.

Just a timely reminder of vigilance around the cricket grounds as the season gets into full swing. Remember we had a spate of thefts last year, and unfortunately, there has already been reports of thefts in the county at cricket matches this season. Do not give these low life’s an easy opportunity to take your valuables. Take some simple precautions; 1. Do not take valuables into a Changing Room to start with. If possible, keep them safely locked away in your vehicles, you do not need them while the game is in progress. 2. If you cannot do (1) then please try and make sure that your changing room is safely locked, especially when your team is in the field and the key is left with your scorer. If the changing room cannot be locked then ask the host club if they have a safe facility to lock these valuables in, like their bar. 3. Notice if entrance to the clubhouse can be made without being visible from the field of play, in which case take extra care.

Play-Cricket Update With more clubs starting their seasons this weekend – just a few more pointers and reminders with regard to Play-Cricket administration. Thank you to the teams who have already entered scoresheets – so far there have been no major issues with uploading scorecards in the 48 hour timescale. If you are an administrator please can you attempt to address the pointers below, to ensure there are minimal problems over these first few weeks. 1. For the benefit of the home administrator please make every effort to ensure all your players are added to the NECL squad – this will mean picking the player will be made easier. 2. Please can I encourage you to look at ‘merging’ duplicate records within your clubs – if you have a single record for a player it will ensure that the stats that are produced are correct. The instructions for merging players are on the website in a previous article. 3. Remember that both the ‘home’ and ‘away’ club should confirm the match details on Play-Cricket by the following Friday – again this will confirm that both clubs are happy with what has been entered. This is done by the administrator [...Continue Reading]