SCHOOL SPORT MAGAZINE NATIONAL SCHOOLS U17 CRICKET CUP 2010

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Welcome to the new School Sport Magazine U17 National Schools Cricket Cup 2010.

The competition, which will be open to all state and independent schools with sixth forms as well as sixth form colleges, will run throughout the 2010 summer term between April and July with the final in September.

Open to boys aged U17 on August 31 2009, the 40-over competition will be run on a regional basis in the early rounds, played in midweek and will be open to schools and colleges in England, Wales and Scotland.

The closing date for entries will be January 31 2010 after which the draw will be made and sent to all competing schools.

Phil Tusler, publishing editor of School Sport Magazine, said: "We have enjoyed supporting and celebrating school sport over the last five years so this is a natural progression for us.
"The English Schools Cricket Association do a fantastic job running national competitions at U11, U13 and U15 level so an U17 competition will complement that superbly and extend competitive cricket for an important age group between GCSE and A-levels."

Endorsed by one of school cricket’s greatest supporters David English, a full list of rules and regulations is posted below whilenews updates, results and match reports will be posted in the magazine and on the website.

RULES AND REGULATIONS

The competition shall forthwith be known as the School Sport Magazine National Schools U17 Cricket Cup.
The Laws of Cricket will apply except where specified below.
The main competition will run from April to July with the final in September, although this may be subject to change if the competition can be comfortably completed within the summer term at the discretion of the organising committee.
The competition is open to bona-fide full-time students of the school/college concerned aged U17 on Aug 31 2009. The breaking of either regulation, inadvertently or deliberately, will result in disqualification from the competition at the discretion of the organising committee.
The closing date for entries will be January 31 2010 after which a draw, with closing dates for all rounds, will be sent to all competing schools/colleges.
An entry fee of £50 to cover administrative costs must be received before Feb 28 2010. Failure to do so will mean your place being offered to a school on a reserve list.
The home team will be responsible for organising individual rounds in conjunction and agreement with the away team. Matches will be midweek, unless both teams agree otherwise, and should be arranged as far in advance of the final date for organising the round to allow for postponements due to weather etc. Extensions will only be accepted in exceptional circumstances at the discretion of the organising committee.
Where the home team is unable to provide a suitable venue for the match, the fixture must be reversed and played at the away team venue to ensure the match is completed by the due date.
If a match is not played by the due date, the organising committee will progress one team to the next round based either on a voluntary walkover given to one team over the other, on one team’s inability to play the game or a random draw.
Matches shall consist of one innings per team of 40 overs, or less if the start is delayed or if there are rain delays, as mutually agreed. If the team batting first is bowled out in less than the allocated overs, unused overs will not be available to the team batting last.
In a full uninterrupted game, the winning team shall be the team scoring the most runs.
In the event of an interruption, rain or otherwise, the full allocation of overs may still be played despite an interruption, by mutual consent, if sufficient time is thought to be available.

An interruption during the first innings of a match may lead to an agreed reduction in the total allocation equivalent to one over of each innings for each eight minutes of play lost. An interruption during the second innings may lead to a reduction in the allocation of the team batting second equivalent to one over for each four minutes of play lost.

If the team batting second have their allocation of overs reduced after the completion of the first innings, their target score will be calculated by multiplying the revised number of overs (including any already bowled) by the average run rate of the team batting first (based on their total allocation of overs, even if they were bowled out without using them all). Fractions will be rounded to the nearest whole number in all calculations.

For an interrupted match to be completed the team batting second must receive a minimum of 10 overs.
No bowler will bowl more than eight overs. In the event of an innings being reduced, overs will be restricted on a pro-rata basis.

In the event of a bowler being unable to complete an over, the remaining balls will be bowled by another bowler. Such parts of overs will be counted as full overs in both bowlers allocations.

If the scores finish level then the team losing the fewer wickets will be the winner. If the scores finish level and both teams have lost the same number of wickets the result will be decided by the scores at the end of the 39th over and then the 38th, 37th if still level.

The winning team will be responsible for notifying the result of the match as soon after completion by emailing info@schoolsportmag.co.uk with details of any significant performances (individual scores over 50, three wickets or more, century partnerships, hat-tricks etc). Both christian and surname should be included.
Reports and results will be included in School Sport Magazine and on the School Sport Magazine website www.schoolsportmag.co.uk on a regular basis.