U14 PLAYING FORMAT

Games are two innings matches and play shall continue after a first innings result has been achieved if overs permit. There is NO first innings declaration in U14 grade; teams must be bowled out or compulsory close their innings after receiving the Association allocated overs for that grade. All innings change overs are of 10 mins (2 Overs are deducted) in all.

CLOSE FIELDING: No fielder may take up a position in front of or in line with the popping crease closer than 10 metres from the batter. All wicket keepers that are within 3 metres of the stumps MUST have a Cricket Australia British standard approved helmet on, it is compulsory to do so.

FIELDING NUMBERS: There needs to be at least 8 players to start a game, to a maximum of 11 members of the fielding team on the field at any one time. 

TIME LOST: In the advent of a game being interrupted for any reason no time will be made up. 

• In a two-day game, first day overs can be added to second day’s overs and divided in half.
• In an interrupted game each team must receive equal numbers of overs, ie, if a game is started and the team
• Batting first receives 20 overs before the interruption, the team batting second must receive 20 overs, or the game is drawn.
• There must be a minimum of 16 overs per innings to constitute a game.
• In a two-day game where the first day is lost, the game is reverted to a one-day game under one day rules with equal time for both teams allowing for a ten minute change over.
• Lost time is calculated on 1 over for every three and a half minutes lost (3.5 minutes), after the 1st half hour (30 mins) mainly for wet weather.

BALLS: All balls for U14 will be 156gm red kookaburra tuf pitch and or practice, no other make of ball is permitted. All SCJCA appointed umpires will have the right to change any ball that they believe to be dangerous for play; eg out of shape, seam splitting, and or soft and wet due to wet weather with no interference from any player, coach or parent.

TWO DAY MATCHES

• FOLLOW ON: Two day game follow on rule is 75 runs for U14.
• In all 2 day games if over’s permit, a second innings can be played under the conditions set out below.
• The overs bowled by bowlers in the match are the same in your nominated grade, no more than 4 (U14) overs bowled consecutively;
• All bowlers MUST still have a 12 over break between bowling stints;
• Any 1st innings retired batters (that individually in the 1st innings have batted more than 10 overs) are not permitted to bat in the 2nd innings until all other players are out;
• The team batting first in the second innings may bat out the rest of the overs not used for that game regardless of the follow on being invoked; therefore on a 2nd innings they may bat for more than their compulsory allocated overs for that game, if wickets permit.
• All bowlers that haven’t bowled their 2 overs in the 1st innings must bowl first in the 2nd innings and no bowler in the 2nd innings may bowl more than 4 (U14) overs straight (and only if they have overs left from their first innings) before their 12 over rest. (To check compulsory allocated overs for each grade in their first innings.)
• If not dismissed beforehand a team must compulsorily close their innings after having received 40 overs. U14’s can’t declare their 1st innings.

BATTERS: Coaches may retire batters at any time after they have faced at least 3 overs or faced 18 legal deliveries or have been dismissed beforehand.

Batters must retire when they have been on the ground for 12 completed overs.

Compulsory retired batters must wait to resume batting as per APPENDIX A

BOWLERS: All players with the exception of the wicket keeper must bowl a minimum of 2 overs each, in Under 14 grade a maximum of 8 overs per bowler per game with a restriction of 6 overs per day, unless the innings is completed before bowling 40 overs.

ONE DAY MATCHES

All players must bat for 2 overs minimum unless dismissed beforehand.

TIME: In one day games, the 1st innings will start at 8:30 am and conclude closed at 10:25 am (30 overs), if fielding side can’t finish the 30 overs by 10:25 am, the overs left will not be bowled and all overs not completed in the official time will have a 5 run penalty per over (not completed) to the batting side.

The fielding side that is batting second will only be allowed the number of overs that the 1st innings were at on the 10:25 am mark, eg if it was 28 overs then that’s all they receive.

OVERS: One day matches shall aim for 30 overs maximum per innings.

If the team batting first has its innings compulsorily shortened (by time, ground, pitch or weather) then the team batting second may only receive the same number of overs as the team batting first.

16 overs for both teams constitute a game; if these overs can’t be achieved then the game is a draw.

BATTERS: Batters must compulsory retire when they have faced a maximum of 8 overs. Coaches may retire batters at any time, after the batters have had a minimum of 2 overs, retired compulsory batters may resume their innings once all players have batted their 8 overs or are out, compulsory retired batters may resume in any order.

BOWLERS: All players with the exception of the wicket keeper must bowl a minimum of 2 overs, then to a maximum of 4 overs each in the game unless the innings is completed before bowling 30 overs.

Time Penalties: Law 24:  Players absent: 

We will not use this time penalty for players that leave the ground.

LBW: Normal LBW rules to apply.

ALL UMPIRES:

• If you call a wide and the batter hits it, then you must cancel the wide call, and if the Batter is caught then they are to be given out. No exception to this rule (Please wait until the ball has passed the batter before calling a wide.)
• SCJCA umpires are the sole persons in charge of any game they umpire, no coach, player and or parent have any right to approach such umpires.  Any disputes are to be referred to a SCJCA Board member.
• Association appointed umpires have the right to award 5 run penalties for any minor incidents in a game and or order such person/s from the playing arena.
• In extreme circumstances if the person/s refuses to leave then the umpire has the right to stop the game and may award the match to the opposition.
• The Association will back all appointed umpires on any of their decisions made in that game.

WIDES and DEAD BALLS: In instances where the match is played on a hard wicket the following will apply;

DEAD BALLS: Umpires are directed to call “dead ball’ against any ball which shoots from the gap in the matting. NOTE:- the term ‘shoots’ means a ball acted in an unnatural manner.

WIDES:

• A wide or leg-side wide will be called only if the ball when bowled on the matting, then deviates off the matting prior to the batting crease line and the edge of the mat.
• Where matches are played on a turf pitch the normal rules of cricket will apply.
• All Wides and no-balls will incur the one run penalty, and are to be re-bowled (not in U10 & U12 grades) with the over-riding condition that a MAXIMUM of eight deliveries are bowled in any one over in U14 grade.

NO BALLS:

• No Balls must be called when any ball is bowled above waist high on the full, by all bowlers including spinners.
• For all grades, any ball bouncing more than once before it reaches the batter shall be called a NO BALL.
• For all grades, when a ball is bowled onto the side of the concrete pitch or hits the straps or bowled on the grass, these balls will be called and signalled NO BALL, even if they deviate in any directions, batters may hit these balls.

NOTE: A no ball is shown in the bowlers’ analysis as

1. a dot within a circle if not scored from or
2. a number representing any runs taken by the striker within a circle, the runs added to the score is whatever the batters run PLUS the one run penalty, scored as the runs taken by the striker, to the striker and one run to no-balls in the sundries column.

If not scored from, then one run is added to the no-balls in the sundries section.

NOTE: If a no-ball has runs taken but not off the bat the umpire should signal no ball followed by the leg bye or bye signal to indicate that all runs should be scored as no-balls and not to the striker. All no-balls are scored to the bowler.

SCJCA: Will investigate any game on My Cricket that doesn’t have any stats against a players’ name.

OTHER PLAYING CONDITIONS FOR U14

• All Batters must wear a cricket Australia approved helmet when batting.  SEE HELMET section of by laws book.
• All teams are to exchange team sheets before any toss can be done.
• The minimum number of players for a match to commence is 8, all of whom must be in attendance.
• The opposition team must wait for at least 30 minutes after the scheduled starting time before claiming a forfeit.
• In the event of a late start (of more than 15 minutes) due to insufficient player numbers the side batting first,
• providing it is not the team that caused the delayed start, may, if not dismissed, continue to bat in accordance with the following formula.
• Lost time is halved and overs reduced by 1 over every 3.5 minutes to both sides. The above notwithstanding every effort should be made for a game to be played.

SPINNERS: After all bowlers have bowled their compulsory two (2) overs, then a spinner can bowl the rest of his allocated number of overs in the second spell but only to the maximum number of overs in that grade allocation for their first innings

Under 14 Grand Final Special Conditions:

• To be played between teams ranked one and two at the end of the minor round.
• Teams may nominate twelve players only and team sheets must be exchanged and handed to the umpires before the toss.
• The twelfth player is the designated bowler and doesn’t have to be named as the designated bowler on the team sheet, as long as 11 bat and no more than 11 bowl.
• Wicket keepers aren’t compulsory to bowl; it’s up to the coach.
• To qualify for the grand final, players must have played a minimum of four full games for their club in this or a lower grade in the current season.
• Where a club has two teams in the same division players must have played one more than half their games in the team competing in the final.
• Lower grade players may be included in a higher grade grand final if required due to lack of numbers, as long as they have qualified with four full games in their lower grade.
• Any T20 games will not count for the number of games required to play finals.

IMPORTANT:  U14 All retired batters see Appendix A.

DRESS CODE: The Association recommends; Long sleeve white or cream shirt with collar, white or cream long trousers, predominantly white shoes, broad brimmed hats. (Hats and shirts will be permitted to have club colours and logos or appropriately sized advertising from sponsors). Shirts should be tucked in and thigh pads worn inside trousers.

BOUNDARIES / OVAL SIZES:

• Coaches are requested to make the boundaries achievable for the age grade playing there, and to ensure the boundary is the same for both playing days. 
• Association maximum requirements for Boundaries are U14’s – 45 metres.
• Please note- All boundaries’ are to be 3 metres inside any fence, building, trees and or obstacles limiting players’ risk of injury.
• NOTE; All boundaries are measured from the centre of the pitch.

HELMETS: Wearing of British Standards approved full HELMETS is MANDATORY while batting and wicketkeeping. The gap in the face guard, between the peak and top of the grill must be fixed. In all other regards it must be adjustable. The coach of each team is charged with the responsibility of insuring all his players are wearing the correct approved helmet, we can’t place that responsibility on any umpire or junior captain.

APPENDIX A 

• The following conditions apply to all retired batters.
• A team is all out when they have lost 10 wickets.
• Compulsory retired batters are retired NOT OUT and may resume their innings if circumstances permit.
• Batters retiring on their allotted number of overs to be called compulsory retirees and batters retired before their allotted overs to be called voluntary retirees.
• Our by-laws require voluntary retirees to return to the crease BEFORE compulsory retirees, voluntary retirees may resume their innings when all players have had a turn at batting, U14 at least 3 overs of 18 legal deliveries unless dismissed beforehand.
• Any voluntary retired, resuming batter must also further retire if they reach that grade compulsory over level.
• Please Note:  Voluntary retired batters may resume in any order.
• Compulsory retired batters may resume when all other players have batted and / or have either reached the compulsory retirement overs or are dismissed beforehand.
• ALL batters must compulsory retire when they reach the retirement overs.
• Please Note: Compulsory retired batters may resume in any order