RULES

LIVERPOOL BUSINESS HOUSES CRICKET LEAGUE 

LEAGUE CONSTITUTION AND RULES 

2024

1.       ASSOCIATION 

1.1     Name: The name of this amalgamation of cricket clubs shall be “The Liverpool Business Houses Cricket League”. 

2.       CONSTITUTION

2.1     All proposals for amendments to the constitution and rules of the League and nominations for the Management Committee shall be sent to the League Secretary 7 days before the date of the Annual General Meeting (AGM). All clubs will be notified of the proposals. Please contact the League Secretary at lbhcl@outlook.com.

2.2     Amendments to the constitution and rules will be raised at the AGM and passed by majority vote of those present.

3.       ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

3.1     The AGM will be called by the League Secretary; the AGM will be held in January at a convenient venue.

4.       MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

4.1     The Management Committee shall consist of:

Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, Development Officer, and Disciplinary Officer.

4.2     The Management Committee will hold their positions for one year and will retire at the AGM. They may stand again.

4.3     The Management Committee shall meet, as required during the playing season and as and when required during the closed season. Three members shall constitute a quorum.

4.4     The Management Committee shall each receive remuneration for the season of £100 for the League Secretary and £50 for each other post.

5.       POWER

5.1     The Management Committee shall have the following powers:  

(a)      To allocate the teams to each division and formulate fixtures.

(b)      To deal with all infringements of the constitution or rules of the League, and if necessary, impose any penalties that may occur. See DISPUTES/COMPLAINTS.

6.       DISPUTES/COMPLAINTS

6.1     The Management Committee will deal with any disputes or complaints raised by club secretaries in the first instance. Clubs wishing to raise a dispute/complaint must email the Disciplinary Secretary.

6.2     The Management Committee will respond with their decision within 5 days.

7.       APPEALS

7.1     Appeals against any decision by the Management Committee must be lodged within 5 days to the League Secretary in writing.

7.2     A panel made up of club secretaries (min 3) will be convened.

7.3     Appeal hearings will be convened within 5 days of being lodged.

7.4     All evidence will be obtained, and the appellant may request a personal hearing.

7.5     The panel’s decision will be final.

8.       MEMBERSHIP QUALIFICATION

8.1     Clubs requesting to become members should approach the League Secretary. They will be proposed by the League Secretary and must seconded at the AGM by a current member club.

8.2     Should a club wish to join the league following the AGM, they will still need to be seconded. This will be done via email to the member club secretaries.

8.3     The cut off point for clubs being admitted to the League will be 1st March unless agreed by the Management Committee.

8.4     A club wishing to join the league must pay the bond by 30 March and league fee by 30 May to the Treasurer. See Fees section.

9.       FINANCES

9.1     The Treasurer shall collect all monies due to the League and shall keep a proper account of the receipts and payments and must to submit a statement of the accounts at AGM.

10.     BANK

10.1    The monies of the league shall be lodged in the name of Liverpool Business Houses Cricket League in a bank of the committee’s choice. All cheques shall be made payable to the said association and any communication containing fees etc shall be addressed to the Treasurer.

11.     FEES

11.1    On election a club must pay a bond of £50 by 30 March. Bonds will be returned on receipt of club resignation. The bond will be seized should a club fail to pay fees or fail to fulfil fixtures without reasonable excuse.

11.2    Each club will pay an annual fee of £50 to the Treasurer by 30 May of that year.

11.3    Clubs failing to pay fees following 30 May will be served with a written reminder notice. Should they fail to pay within 1 week of this, their fixtures will be suspended, and they will be expelled from any cup competitions. Should the club fail to pay after one month of notice, the club will be indefinitely suspended from matches until payment has been received. They will be deducted -2 points for each game that is suspended.

11.4    Should they fail to pay before the end of the current season, they will be considered for expulsion from the league by vote of the members at the AGM.

11.5    The Management Committee reserves the right to alter the date that clubs must pay fees and will notify clubs accordingly.

12.     PLAYING REGULATIONS

SEASON

12.1    The 2024 league season will run from Monday 6 May until Friday 9 August 2024.

12.2    The Committee will formulate the fixtures. Any clubs requiring additional arrangements MUST contact the League Secretary when registering for the season.

12.3    In exceptional circumstances, the Management Committee can agree to extend the season to no later than the Friday in August before Cup Finals Day.

12.4    All matches not completed by the dates specified in 12.1 and 12.3 will be void and 0 points will be awarded to each team.

12.5    In the event of suspension or curtailment of the league due to global pandemic, the cut off point for the season to be cancelled will be first Friday in July by vote of the league members. 

LEAGUE STRUCTURE

12.6    The league structure will be decided by the Management Committee. This will be approved by the members at a league structure meeting held after the AGM.

12.7    The maximum number of teams in a division will be eight (8).

12.8    Team will play each other once.

12.9    Promotion and relegation will be agreed upon once the league structure is approved or at the Management Committee's discretion.

MATCH NIGHTS 

12.10  Each club must specify their normal match night for home matches.

12.11  All matches must be played on the night specified in the fixtures unless weather intervenes, ground unavailability or on agreement between clubs with prior notice being given to the League Secretary.

12.12  The League Secretary must be informed when a game is re-arranged.

START TIMES

12.13  Matches should start at 6:00pm wherever possible.

FAILURE OF ATTENDING/FOREFEITING GAME

12.14  A team failing to attend without prior notice and/or agreement will be liable to forfeit the game. The club secretary of the attending team should notify the League Secretary on the night of the game and whether they wish to claim the fixture.

12.15  The cut off point for a team failing to attend a match without notice will be 6:30pm.

12.16  Should an attempt be made to rearrange the game, teams must ensure this is done so before the deadline of the league season, see 12.1 and 12.3 above and notify the League Secretary. Any games arranged after the cut-off point will not count toward the league standings.

12.17  Teams forfeiting matches will be deducted 2 points from their points total. 

12.18  Teams must attempt to play all league and cup games. Teams must not prioritise one competition over another. Any team deemed to be doing this will be brought before the Management Committee to provide a reason for this. Penalties will be incurred if the Management Committee are not satisfied with the reason.

TEAMS/TEAM SHEETS

12.19 If any team does not have at least 8 players on a match night, the game must be forfeited. The winning team will be awarded 5 points, the forfeiting team will be deducted 2 points.

12.20  Prior to the start of each game, both captains must provide a team sheet with the 11 players names. This will be used by the scorers and these team sheets must be forwarded to the League Secretary via email at the end of each game.

INELIGIBLE PLAYER

12.21  No Professional/Ex-professional players are permitted to play in the league.

12.22  No Overseas Players on Secondments are permitted to play in the league. However, players from overseas not on secondment may play but the Committee must be notified first.

12.23  Players shall play for ONE club only during the season.

12.24  Teams cannot substitute a player during the game unless of an injury. The substitute cannot bat or bowl.

12.25  No player from the opposing team can substitute as this constitutes fielding an ineligible player. 

12.26  No person under the age of 14 is allowed to play in the league; batting helmets must be worn by players under 18 years of age.

12.27  Clubs believed to be utilising players who are ineligible in contravention of Rules 12.21-12.26 will be subject disciplinary action by the Management Committee.

DURATION

12.28  The match will consist of 20 x 6 ball overs per innings.

12.29  Teams will alternate ends to bowl their 20 overs, however, on agreement by both teams, 10 overs can be bowled from one end consecutively and then swap and bowl 10 overs from end. This must be consistent across both team’s innings.

EQUIPMENT

12.30  All players MUST wear white (or off white) trousers and a similar white shirt. Coloured shirts or trousers are not permitted.

12.31  The fielding side are responsible for providing a match ball for the innings. Match balls must be of a decent standard and both captains must confirm their use for the innings.

12.32  The use of multicoloured balls is permitted (orange or pink), however, both sides must agree to this, and they must be used in both innings.

CALLED OFF/CURTAILMENT

12.33  In the event of a match being called off due to inclement weather/agreement between teams the match should be rearranged at the earliest opportunity. The League Secretary should be informed once a new date is set.

12.34  Cup matches take precedent over league games and must be rearranged immediately.

12.35  If the rearranged game is cancelled due inclement weather, no further attempt should be made and both sides will be awarded 2 points.

12.36  If the 1st innings is completed and the side batting second have reached at least 10 overs when bad light or inclement weather stopped play, upon agreement by both captains that no more play can occur, then the result will be decided by the scoring rate.

12.37  Scoring rate is decided by number of runs scored divided by number of overs bowled.

          Example:

            Team A scored 120 from 20 overs. 120/20 = 6 runs per over.

            Team B scored 55 from 10 overs. 55/10 = 5.5 runs per over.

            Team A would be declared the winner.

12.38  Captains may make prior arrangement to limit the overs played by each side to no less than 10 overs in anticipation of a possible failure to complete the game.

12.39  In the event of both teams failing to complete at least 10 overs, the match will be considered abandoned and if not previously re-arranged, efforts should be made to do so at the earliest opportunity. If second attempt, 2 points will be awarded.

13.     RESULTS

13.1    All results are final.

13.2    In the event of a tied game, the team losing the least wickets will be the winner. If still level, then number of 6s and then 4s will be used. If still tied, then both teams will receive 2 points.

13.3    The League Secretary must be notified of the result on the night of the game by text or email.

13.4    The home team must email the Liverpool Business Houses League (lbhcl@outlook.com), copying in the away team with the details including scores, points and notable milestones – 50s, 100s, 4fers, 5fers – within 24 hours of the game. No email will result in no points being awarded.

13.5    Both sides must provide a copy of the scorebook/online scoring app of their innings and the team sheets must be submitted.

POINTS

13.6    Points are distributed for matches as follows:

13.7    Maximum number of points that can be claimed is 7 points. 

13.8    No points will be awarded until an email is received detailing the result. Both club secretaries should inform the league via the email address lbhcl@outlook.com.

LEAGUE STANDINGS

13.9    League positions will be decided by points gained, total wins, total bonus points, and head-to-head. If still level, total runs scored and total wickets taken will be used.

13.10  Cup group positions will be decided by points gained, total wins, total bonus points, head-to-head and net run rate. If still level, total runs scored and total wickets taken will be used.

13.11  The team top of Division One at the cut-off point of the league season will be declared champions of the Liverpool Business Houses Cricket League.

13.12  The team winning each Division below Division One will be champions of that division and promoted to the higher division the following season.

13.13  League structure will be decided by the Committee but will be ratified at the AGM by members present.

14.     LOCAL REGULATIONS

14.1    All matches shall be played according to the LAWS OF CRICKET with additional “Local Regulations”.

14.2    The bowling of "Bouncers" or short ball deliveries shall be declared "no balls” and the next delivery will be a free hit.

14.3    No bowler shall bowl more than 4 overs.

14.4    A batter who retires and does not resume their innings shall be deemed out. This will count toward bonus point’s application.

14.5    A free hit is awarded to the batting team in the event of a no ball. The free hit constitutes the next legal delivery. The field must not be altered unless the batters have crossed.

14.6    Any leg side delivery not met by bat or pad must be called a wide and an extra delivery must be bowled.

14.7    Runs scored off a wide/no ball count as well as wide/no ball.

14.8    Any player injured during the game can leave the field for medical attention and upon resuming can bat or bowl as required.

15.     CUP FINALS

15.1    Cup finals will be arranged the Committee based upon the availability of both teams.

15.2    Cup finals will be played at a ground pre-arranged by the Committee. Clubs desiring to host “Cup Finals Day” should inform the Committee at the AGM. In the event of several applications, a vote will be held. 

16.     TROPHIES & MEDALS

16.1    Clubs who are victorious in the active Divisions, Senior Cup and Junior Cup will be awarded the cup pertaining to that competition.

16.2    Any club holding a trophy belonging to the Liverpool Business Houses Sports Association must sign an indemnity form to look after all the trophy in their possession.

16.3    A club winning a division will have the option of receiving a maximum of 12 medals purchased by the league or have their subscriptions for the following season paid. Any additional medals cost will be incurred by the club.

16.3    11 medals will be handed out to the winners and runners-up on Cup Finals Day. Clubs desiring additional medals must contact the League Treasurer.

16.4    Medals will be awarded to any player who scored 100 or more runs in an innings or takes 5 or more wickets. The club secretary must provide the league with the players full name and the details ie 4 overs, 5 runs, 5 wickets, 2 maidens.

17.     OTHER

17.1    Anything not dealt within the Constitution shall be handled by the Committee.