Modifications To Junior Cricket Playing Conditions

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Neville Young

Neville Young

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I thought I'd keep everyone up to date with the new modifications to being trialed next season for our Junior Cricket Competitions.

There are to be changes made to our local and surrounding junior competitions. The idea is to cater for the physical capabilities of children to play under adult regulations, to help the speed of play, increase participation and reduce the number of no balls and wides bowled.

Stage 1 (under-10s and 11s) will introduce a reduction in pitch length by 4m to 16m, boundaries will be limited to 40m, teams will field just seven players, games will be limited to 20 overs and a softer, modified ball will be used.

In Stage 2 (wider-12s and 13s), players will play on an 18m pitch, boundaries will be limited to 45m, teams will field nine players and games will be limited to 25 overs.

I'm all for it as it will make the introduction to cricket so much easier and more enjoyable for young kids.
Do you blokes in other countries have anything similar or any suggestions about how things could be modified for young kids.
 
Boundaries in junior cricket are normally well below 45 metres - more like 30 to 35 metres.

At the younger level - up to U12s, they play pairs cricket. You find that the more marginal players end up facing more deliveries this way, and improve a lot more over the course of the season as a result.

8-aside is also very common.

There are also some regulations in the UK I disagree with. Wides and no-balls are penalised quite brutally. 2 runs, and in the last 2 overs, they have to be rebowled as well. Extras are normally well over 50% of all runs scored. The team coach is forced to choose between giving some lads a go who want to bowl but aren't very accurate yet, or only bowling his best 6 bowlers and trying to win the game.
 
Neville Young said:
How is pairs played SLA?
Click to expand...

Each pair bats for a set number of overs. So if you are playing 8 aside, then you would have four pairs who each bat for four overs, say, to make a sixteen over game.
If you lose a wicket, you lose five runs, but the batsmen just swap ends.

Weaker batsmen improve their skills quicker by essentially being given multiple goes in one game.
 
Neville Young said:
I thought I'd keep everyone up to date with the new modifications to being trialed next season for our Junior Cricket Competitions.

There are to be changes made to our local and surrounding junior competitions. The idea is to cater for the physical capabilities of children to play under adult regulations, to help the speed of play, increase participation and reduce the number of no balls and wides bowled.

Stage 1 (under-10s and 11s) will introduce a reduction in pitch length by 4m to 16m, boundaries will be limited to 40m, teams will field just seven players, games will be limited to 20 overs and a softer, modified ball will be used.

In Stage 2 (wider-12s and 13s), players will play on an 18m pitch, boundaries will be limited to 45m, teams will field nine players and games will be limited to 25 overs.

I'm all for it as it will make the introduction to cricket so much easier and more enjoyable for young kids.
Do you blokes in other countries have anything similar or any suggestions about how things could be modified for young kids.
Click to expand...
Here in the UK, I'm not aware of it having been changed. My initial gut reaction is that it's not good, but I suppose with kids being given phones at increasingly younger ages these days, they're going become increasingly less physical and the shortening of the wicket is probably a good idea. Why less players though - that's not going to help the bowlers at all, especially any kid that wants to bowl wrist-spin. Looks like an agenda set primarily by batsmen. Maybe make bats narrower, to give bowlers half a chance?

85% more boundaries! Jeez, who'd be a bowler?

What age do they disappear? My experience and observations here in the UK, show that generally we're able to retain the kids up to about 14. Then they get their own voice and basically turn round to the parents and say they're not playing anymore, it just seems to be a coming of age thing. I'd also blame phones and social media. After 14 it only tends to be the kids whose families are already involved in the game that go on to play into their teens and up to University/work age.
 
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I'd be very careful with this pandemic that is going around at the moment.
Look out for the cricket balls being disinfected after each over.
 
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