1. On receipt of the fixture lists, it is the responsibility of the home team to contact the away team and agree a date within the stated week commencing. Two dates should be offered and one agreed to.

2. It is the responsibility of both managers to return a fully completed result sheet by email using the template provided to ‘mbsresults@btinternet.com’ within 48 hours of the game being played. Telephoned results will not be accepted. If a result sheet from a team is not received within the above timescale, then an automatic fine of £5 will be imposed. For the second and successive result sheets from a team, that are not returned within the stipulated time, a fine of £10 will be paid. If a Club has not settled its Fines Account by 15th September then the total fine will be doubled.

3. Points will be awarded as follows:-
Win 4 points                              Loss 2 points
Tie 3 points each                       Abandoned Match 2 points each
Claimed/Conceded Match:- Claimant - 4 points Opponent - 0 points

4. A fixture is deemed to be abandoned if both teams are willing to play, or have started to play, the fixture but are unable to complete it because the pitch is unsafe to play on. Such a fixture may be re-arranged at any time on or before 31st August. If the home team is unable, or unwilling, to offer two alternative dates or the away team is unable to accept either one of the dates offered then the match may be ‘Claimed’ (see 6. below). Alternatively, both teams may agree not to play a rearranged match in which case both managers must send a results sheet marked ‘Abandoned’ to ‘mbsresults@btinternet.com’.

5. Matches may only be postponed/cancelled due to the pitch being unsafe to play on. If a team postpones/cancels the match for any other reason, or is unable to agree a rearrangement (under Rule 1), then the match will deem to have been conceded. Postponement and rearrangement of matches should ideally be completed, or confirmed, by email using the ‘reply’ function so that an audit trail can be established in case of a dispute.

6. If a team wishes to ‘claim’ a match, then it must complete Section A of the ‘Match Conceded/ Claim For Points’ form and email the whole form to the League Organiser who will email it to the manager of the opposing team to complete Section B. If the completed form is then not emailed to the League Organiser within four days, the claimant team will be awarded the match. If the form is returned with a counterclaim then the League Organiser will decide on whether the game should be awarded to one of the sides, replayed or deem it as Abandoned and award points accordingly; his decision will be final. (If it is proved, to the satisfaction of the League Organiser, that a team has failed to fulfil a fixture without giving the opposition a minimum of 24 hours notice before the game is scheduled to start, then the claim will be automatically upheld). The latest date of receipt of any such claim will be 31st July except where a match has been arranged before that date to be played in August and one of the teams then cancels it, in which case the date will be 31st August. Final League tables will be produced by 14th September and will only include details of results received on or before 31st August which is the final date of receipt. The final league positions of teams which have an equal number of points will be decided in the following order. (If, however, two or more teams tie on points for first place then they will be declared joint winners):-

(i) The points awarded to the teams in matches against each other where all scheduled matches have been played.
(ii) Total net score for the season divided by the number of games played (U11 and U13 Pairs Divisions to decide runners-up places).
(iii) Total number of runs scored by teams in all games divided by the total number of wickets lost (U15 Divisions and U13 20-0ver Divisions) to decide runners-up places.

7. A club shall be eligible for the competition if its ground is based within, or it draws its players from, the county borough boundaries of:- Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Newport, Monmouthshire, Torfaen. A club may enter more than one team in an age group and name their teams A, B etc. (in descending order of merit). A boy who is a member of any final County Squad, and has played for a club’s A team twice, may not play for its B team in the same age group. (In the event that a club has more of such players than places in the team then they may play in the B team. The same may happen for players in the first year of their age group who will not get a chance to perform regularly in their A team. The club should notify the League Organiser if this is likely to arise.)

8. A player, who must be a bona fide junior member, may represent a club provided he/she is under the age of 11, 13 or 15 on the first day of September prior to the season of the competition. A player may play for one or more age groups provided the above birth date requirement is satisfied. No player may play for more than one club in a season unless at an age group where the player’s normal club has not entered a team. A player wishing to move club during a season may only do so with the written approval of both clubs and the League Organiser.

9. For the purposes of the competition, girls will be deemed to be one year younger than their actual age. at Under 11 and Under 13 and two years at Under 15. However, if they are members of a Wales Squad they are subject to the same conditions as the boys in Rule 7. Nominated girls, who are not National Squad Players, are allowed to play in mixed teams two years below their age group i.e. U13 Girls (Y8) to be allowed to play U11 Cricket and U15 Girls (Y10) to be allowed to play U13 Cricket. Also, if any girl plays in a club’s girls’ team she may only play in one mixed team for the same club or one at another club but not both.

10. In special circumstances, a player may play in a younger age group with the approval of the League Organiser following a petition from his club.

11. Management of the competition shall be the responsibility of Gwent Young Cricketers. All decisions reached by the League Organiser will be final. Clubs are accepted into the League on the understanding that they comply fully with the ECB guidelines on the wearing of helmets and child protection and that the League shall have no liability whatsoever for anything that happens before, during or after any match.