RULES OF THE COMPETITION - 2008 EDITION

ADMINISTRATION

1) The League shall be known as the "West Midland 3rd XI Club Cricket Championship", and shall be affiliated to the Midland Club Cricket Conference.

2) The affairs of the West Midland 3rd XI Club Cricket Championship ("The Championship") shall be administered by an Executive Committee of 5 members. Such Executive Committee shall comprise the Officers of The Championship (the Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer and Results Secretary), and such additional members as are necessary to fill the available places. No person shall hold more than 2 offices, and the person holding the office of Chairman shall hold no other office. In meetings of the Executive Committee, the Chairman shall have no deliberate vote, but shall have a casting vote in the event of a tied vote on any matter.

3) An Annual General Meeting of The Championship shall be held each year in November. The business of such A.G.M. shall include the election of Officers and any other members of the Executive Committee to serve until the following year's A.G.M., the appointment of an Hon Auditor, the approval of the accounts for the year ended on the immediately preceding 31 October, the fixing of Championship fees and fixed penalties for the coming year (which shall, if necessary, be subject to further call at an Extraordinary General Meeting), the consideration of any proposals for the changing of the Rules of The Championship and the appendix thereto, the admission of new members, and such other business as the meeting considers appropriate. There shall be a quorum of 50% of the member clubs of The Championship as constituted at the start of the meeting.

4) An Extraordinary General Meeting shall be called by the Hon. Secretary, either on resolution of the Executive Committee, upon receipt, by him, of a written request for such a meeting from not less than 10% of the existing member clubs of The Championship, or upon the receipt, by him of an appeal under Rule 11) or under Rule 12). Such E.G.M. shall be called within 28 days of any such resolution of the Executive Committee or of receipt, by the Hon. Secretary, of such an appeal or such a request. Any such resolution of the Executive Committee or written request from member clubs must specify the purpose for which the meeting is to be held, and such purpose shall be stated clearly in the notice convening the meeting. The formal business of any such meeting shall be limited strictly to the purpose specified in that notice. Once an appeal has been made to the Hon Secretary under Rule 13, such appeal may be withdrawn only with the agreement of the EGM called for the purpose of hearing that appeal. Where any appeal is made wholly or partly against a punishment imposed by the Executive Committee, and that appeal is withdrawn under the provisions of the preceding sentence, the original punishment may, nevertheless, be replaced with any punishment decided upon by the EGM. The party or parties losing or withdrawing the appeal shall be liable for the costs of calling and holding the EGM, unless decided otherwise by that EGM.

5) An Ordinary General Meeting of The Championship shall be held each April and another each September.

6) Fourteen days notice shall be given of General Meetings. For an A.G.M., details of any proposal to change the Rules of The Championship, or the appendix thereto, shall be provided to member clubs with the notice of the Meeting.

7) Any member club may have up to 3 representatives at any General Meeting of The Championship, but only one may cast a vote. This provision shall apply even where a club has entered more than one team in The Championship. Voting shall be by show of hands unless one fifth of those present and entitled to vote demand a ballot. In the case of a tie the Chairman shall have a casting vote.

8) The Rules of the Championship and the appendix thereto may be amended only at the A.G.M. of The Championship. Any change shall be effected by the vote in favour of a simple majority of the clubs represented. Any proposal to alter the Rules of The Championship, or the appendix thereto, must be received by the Honorary Secretary, in writing, before 15th October.

9) The approval of admission to The Championship of new teams or clubs shall be effected at the A.G.M. by the vote in favour of a simple majority of the clubs represented at that meeting.

10) Fixtures shall be played on Saturdays, commencing on the first Saturday in May. All fixtures shall be arranged by the Executive Committee of The Championship, and shall be notified to clubs not later than 31st January. Clubs may, by mutual agreement, reverse the home and away fixtures so arranged against a given opponent, but fixtures may not otherwise be altered.

11) The day-to-day management and control of The Championship shall be vested in the Hon. Secretary, but any member club dissatisfied with a decision made by the Hon. Secretary may appeal to the Executive Committee.

12) Championship fees shall be payable by 31st December preceding the playing season. Any club that has not paid by that date shall be deemed to have resigned from The Championship. The operation of this Rule may be waived at the discretion of the Executive Committee, and any club in respect of which this Rule is enforced shall have the right of appeal to an Extraordinary General Meeting of The Championship by giving written notice to the Hon. Secretary. Any Extraordinary General Meeting held under this provision shall have the power to waive the operation of this Rule.

13) Any Club guilty of conduct prejudicial to the interests of The Championship may be expelled by a unanimous resolution of the Executive Committee of The Championship or may suffer lesser punishment by a majority decision of the Executive Committee. Similarly, any player found to be guilty of conduct prejudicial to the interests of the Championship or to the game of cricket, shall suffer such punishment, up to and including a life ban from all activities of the Championship, as is decided upon by a simple majority of the Executive Committee. Any such club or such player shall have the right of appeal to an Extraordinary General Meeting of The Championship by giving written notice to the Hon. Secretary within 14 days of the date on which the said club or player is notified of a decision of the Executive Committee regarding the conduct of that club or player.

14) If upon the winding up or dissolution of The Championship there remain, after satisfaction of all its debts and liabilities, any properties or assets whatsoever, the same shall belong to, and be paid to, those clubs that were members of The Championship at the time of such winding up or dissolution. The said properties and assets shall be divided among such clubs.

15) All Clubs incurring a financial penalty owed to the Championship shall pay the outstanding sum within 28 days of the date on which notification of the penalty is issued to the club concerned, except where liability to the the penalty is automatic (as in the case of a forfeited fixture), where the penalty shall be paid within 28 days of the event giving rise to the penalty (in the case of a forfeited fixture, within 28 days of the date and time at which the forfeited fixture would otherwise have started), otherwise their membership of the Championship shall be suspended until the sum is paid. Any match played thereafter without discharging the penalty shall be treated as forfeit.

16) All member clubs shall be required to have a functioning contact email address and access to the internet, for the purpose of communicating with other club contacts and the Executive Committee, and accessing the league rules, fixtures, results, tables, and any other information posted on the Championship website.

17) Any Club making a formal complaint regarding the conduct of a Club or Player must do so in writing and detailing the same to the Hon Secretary and be received by him within 7 days of the conduct complained of.

APPENDIX - PLAYING REGULATIONS FOR SEASON 2008

1) Each player must be a bona-fide member of his club. A player may not play for more than one member club in a League match in any one season without the prior approval of the Committee.

2) For playing purposes, The Championship shall comprise of a league of divisions, called: Premier Division, Division 1, Division 2 and so on. No Division shall contain more than 10 teams. Where there is more than one division, each division other than the lowest shall normally comprise 10 teams with the remaining teams constituting the lowest Division, at the discretion of the Executive Committee.

3) No club may enter more than 2 teams in The Championship. Any club entering more than 1 team in The Championship shall have not more than 1 team in any division other than the lowest.

a> Where promotion in accordance with 5) of this appendix would otherwise result in a club having more than 1 team in a division, the team that would otherwise have gained promotion shall not be promoted, but shall remain in the division from which it would otherwise have been promoted. Instead, the team finishing third in that division shall be promoted to the division above.

b> Where relegation in accordance with 5) of this appendix would otherwise result in a club having more than 1 team in any division other than the lowest, the team already in that division shall be relegated to the next lower division, and the highest placed team that would otherwise also have been relegated shall not be relegated, but shall remain in the division from which it would otherwise have been relegated.

c> Where relegation in accordance with 5) of this appendix results in a club having more than 1 team in the lowest division, such teams shall be mutually exclusive, i.e. no player shall play in more than 1 of those teams in any season, and a list of players participating in each match for each such team, in a format determined by the Executive Committee, shall be submitted to reach the Results Secretary within 7 days of the date of each match. Failure to comply with this requirement may, subject to the discretion of the Executive Committee, result in the forfeiture of any points gained in a match. In addition, fixtures shall be arranged so that such teams play each other in the first round of matches in each half of the season.

4) The team gaining the highest number of points shall be adjudged winners of the Division concerned. If any teams finish level on points, the winner shall be the team with most wins. If the teams shall still be level, the winner shall be the team with most winning draws.

5) Subject to 3) of this appendix, at the end of each season the top two teams in a division defined on the same basis as that used in 4) of this appendix, shall for the following season be promoted to the next higher division and the bottom 2 teams in any division other than the lowest division shall be relegated to the next lower division, at the discretion of the Executive Committee.

6) The result of each match shall be notified by the home team to the Results Secretary. Notification shall be made by 6pm on the day after the date of the match. The scorecard shall be delivered to the Results Secretary to reach him not later than the second Monday following the day of the match. Any team failing to comply with the telephone or e mail requirement shall have 10 points deducted from its total for each failure, including the first. Any team failing to comply with the scorecard requirement on more than one occasion shall have 5 points deducted from its total for each failure, including the first.

7) The captains shall at all times be responsible for the correctness of scores.

8) Matches shall commence at 1:30pm, except for matches played after 15th August, which shall commence at 1:00pm. The tea interval shall be 20 minutes.

9) If play is unable to start on time, or if delays occur during play, then the captains must agree before play can commence or continue.

10) Teams are to have 7 players available to play at least 10 minutes before play is due to commence, otherwise the offending team shall forfeit the toss.

11) Any team not honouring a fixture shall have 30 points deducted and may be asked to appear before the Executive Committee to explain its action. The deduction may be waived at the discretion of the Executive Committee. Such team shall incur a penalty, to be set at the AGM, for each match forfeited, payable to the Championship Treasurer. If that team shall be the away team, then the Championship shall compensate the home team with a sum to be set at the AGM.

12) Any team which fails to honour 2 fixtures in a season shall, at the end of that season, automatically be relegated to the next lower division, unless already in the bottom division, in which case it shall remain in that division. Where any team fails to honour more than 2 fixtures in a season, the results of all its Championship fixtures for that season shall be void. Its membership of The Championship shall be terminated at the end of that season and it shall be required to reapply for membership if it wishes to play in The Championship in any future season. Such team shall fulfil its remaining Championship fixtures for that season as "friendly" fixtures, but at the discretion of the teams against which it was due to play.

13) A fixture may be cancelled before the time at which it is due to commence only if mutually agreed between the captains of the teams. Any fixture cancelled or not fulfilled shall not be rearranged, and any abandoned match shall not be replayed.

14) Points Awarded:

a> 25 points shall be awarded for a win, or for a fixture not fulfilled by the opposition (which shall be deemed a win), 8 points for a tie, for a drawn match in which no winning or losing draw applies, and for a winning draw, 2 points for a losing draw, and 5 points for a fixture cancelled because of the unfitness for play of the pitch, and for an uncompleted match. A match shall be deemed to be uncompleted if neither side has won and the team batting second has received less than 25 overs.

b> In a drawn game, the winning draw shall be determined by the formula: runs scored when batting divided by overs faced. The team with the higher figure, as arrived at by that formula, shall be deemed to have recorded a winning draw. The opposing side shall, accordingly, be deemed to have recorded a losing draw. If the run rates, as determined by that formula, are equal, then the strike rates (wickets taken divided by overs bowled, when fielding) shall decide - the team with the higher rate achieving the winning draw. If both run rates and strike rates are equal, then no winning or losing draw shall apply.

c> Bonus points shall be awarded to both sides in a tied, drawn, or uncompleted game, and to the losing side when the other side wins, as follows: 1 point for 100 runs and a further point for every further 25 runs scored up to a maximum of 5, i.e. at 200 runs, and 1 point for every 2 wickets taken by each side when bowling, to a maximum of 5 when a side is bowled out. Where a team fielding less than 11 players is "all out", 5 bowling bonus points shall be awarded to the fielding side.

15) Two new balls, or two used balls of good and equal standard, per match, shall be provided by the home team. Each shall be a full-size Grade "A" 4-piece leather ball, but shall not be a "Reader" High Technology Ball. The choice of ball shall rest with the team losing the toss.

16) Matches shall be of 100 overs' duration, of which the team batting first shall take no more than 50. Any overs less than the permitted maximum not taken by the team batting first shall be used in the second innings of the match. If play is unable to start on time, or delay occurs during play, then the number of overs shall be reduced at the rate of 1 over for every 3 minutes lost. If the delay occurs during the first innings of the match, then the overs lost shall be taken from the duration of the match, and the team batting first shall take no more than half of the new total, provided that is not less than 50 overs. If the delay occurs in the second innings of the match then the overs shall be taken from that innings only.

17) Each team may supply an umpire for a match.

18) If it is known before commencement of play that a player will be late arriving, then the name of that player or players shall be notified to the opposing Captain before play commences. No other player may play in place of such named person or persons without the consent of the opposing Captain.

19) Directives of the England and Wales Cricket Board that are pertinent to matches played in the Championship shall have the force of additions to the Appendix to the Rules unless specifically excluded - where published between the date of an Annual General Meeting (AGM) and the following season, by a decision of the Executive Committee - or, in other cases, by a decision of the AGM.

20) The costs of the teas shall be the responsibility of the home club. No fee shall be taken from the away side.