Greater Kansas Cricket Club

MIDWEST CRICKET LEAGUE (MCL)

MCL Game Rules

Name

. The Organization shall be known as the Midwest Cricket League (MCL).

Executive Committee:

• For 2006 season, this committee is formed by the following individuals:
  . Gopala (KCC)
  . Chris (GKCC)
  . Yasir (PAK XI)
  . Sukumar (UMKC)
  . Haris (MCL President, Green HAWKS)
• Executive committee will try its best to enforce all ICC and MCL rules and regulations. This committee will evaluate misconducts on a case by case basis to determine the appropriate corrective action. Corrective action can include maximum fine of $100 per occurrence and can include suspension of involved player(s) for maximum of five games either this season or at the start of next season. Corrective action is to be decided at the time of an occurrence. Players involved in fights will be fined AND suspended. If a team’s player(s) are involved in more than three incidents that require fines or suspensions, executive committee has the right to suspend the whole team. Length of suspension is to be decided by the executive committee if and when this happens. Teams suspended will earn ZERO points for the games they cannot play due to suspension, and the opposing teams will be considered winners and awarded points accordingly.
• Executive committee can impose a fine and/or suspension for any misconduct not covered in this document. Ultimately, executive committee’s goal is to improve MCL standards and make it more professional.

Membership Fee

• Each member club shall pay an entrance fee and annual dues determined by the Executive Body and Register at least eleven players before the start of the playing season.

By-laws

• All games will be played under latest International Cricket Council (I.C.C) rules and MCL rules and by-laws. The MCL rules and by-laws will take precedence over I.C.C rules.

Length of the Game

• Each inning shall consist of 35 overs in regular season games and 40 overs in playoffs except when there is a bad weather. No game will be played less than 20 overs, unless the League approves it.
• Each fielding side will be allowed 2 hours and 40 minutes to complete their 35 overs quota, 3 hours to complete 40 overs, and 1 hour and 45 minutes for 20 overs. Any break or interruption will not be considered as part of this time.
• Teams that fail to complete their overs in allotted time will be required to continue and finish their overs and will be fined $50 per occurrence. Teams must pay the fine before their next game.

Starting Time AND Grace Period

• For KC games, starting time shall be 10:10 am for all matches. Each Captain must submit a team list to the umpires by 10:00 am and no less than 7 players can take the field unless otherwise agreed upon by both teams AND UMPIRES.
• Grace period of 20 minutes will be allowed for teams that do not have their 7 players on the ground by 10:10 am. After grace period has elapsed and 7 players are still not in the ground and both teams do not agree to start the game with fewer players, two overs will be subtracted every 5 minutes from the team causing the delay.
• If it is after 10:10 am (10:40 am for Topeka games), the game shall start as soon as 7 players from both teams are on the ground. Other members will be allowed to take the field after the over is completed during which they arrive at the ground. Maximum grace period for players running late is 30 minutes from the start of the game. Once the grace period has elapsed, players running late FOR ANY REASON cannot join their teams. These players will not be allowed as substitutes either. The team must finish the game with players that arrived within the grace period allowed. Please note that it is crucial for captains to be in the ground before 10:00 am (10:30 am for Topeka games) so they
  can submit their team list to umpires.
• If umpires are absent, for games that are assigned neutral umpires, teams are allowed to wait until 10:30 am maximum (11:00 am for Topeka games). If umpires are not in the ground by this time then the teams must continue with self-umpiring. Umpires can take over at the end of the over in which they arrive. Teams are free to start the game earlier if they agree on self-umpiring for the time umpires are absent. If the game is not started due to absent umpires and the grace period has elapsed, the team refusing to self-umpire and causing delay will receive ZERO points and the opposing team will be awarded a win. 
• If umpires are absent, their teams will be penalized as described under
  “Umpires” and “Points Table”. 
• Starting time will be shifted by an extra 30 minutes to 10:40 am for all Topeka games. Each Captain must submit a team list to the umpires by 10:30 am. The rules above will apply starting 10:40 am.

Lunch AND Drinks

• In a 35 overs game, two five-minute breaks will be allowed for drinks. First break shall be taken at the end of the 12th over and the second break shall be taken at the end of the 24th over. In a 40 overs game, five-minute breaks will be allowed after every 10 overs for drinks.
  This shall not limit players to drink water only during breaks. Teams can provide water bottles to umpires and umpires will share water with players when necessary.
• For KC games, maximum 45 minutes lunch is allowed. A grace period of 8 minutes is allowed for the teams to start the game. Once 8.5 minutes have elapsed, teams will be considered 15 minutes late. If teams are 23.5 minutes late, they will be considered 30 minutes late. Ten runs
  will be granted to the batting side every 15 minutes when a fielding side causes a delay after lunch. Two overs will be deducted every 15 minutes if the batting side causes delay after lunch.
• For Topeka games, maximum 30 minutes lunch is allowed and the rules above will apply if the game is not started in 30 minutes. 
• The rule above, regarding 7 players to start a game, applies after lunch as well.

Bad Weather/Bad Light:

• If the game is not completed due to bad light or weather and less than 20 overs of the 2nd inning is completed, the game may be rescheduled if a ground is available. If rescheduling a game is not possible, the result will be recorded as a draw with each team splitting the total value of winning points by half.

Match Report:

• Each Captain is required to fill out and submit the match score sheet of both their batting and bowling statistics to the League through the League Website. Failure to submit the scores and statistics after the completion of the game will result in ZERO points for the Winning team,
  and loss of additional points for the losing team as described in Points Table below. 
• Each Captain shall also provide a copy of their score sheet to umpires, so they can submit it to the league executives. Failure to do so will result in disqualification and $50 fine and/or suspension. 
• For a game played on Saturday, teams will be penalized if scores are not submitted by midnight on Tuesday. For a game played on Sunday, teams will be penalized if scores are not submitted by midnight on Wednesday. 
• Executive committee has the right to suspend teams for maximum of two games if teams are late.

Points Table:

• Points will be awarded as follows:

REGULAR SEASON

• Win 4 Points
• Walk over 4 Points (to the team receiving the walkover)
• No Show -2 Points (to the team giving the walkover)
• Walk over given 0 Points (to the team showing up with fewer players)
• Draw 2 Points (to each team)
• Umpires -4 Points (to the team failing to send umpires)
• Umpires -2 Points (to the team failing to send umpires on time)
• Score Sheet 0 Points (to winning team for not submitting score)
• -4 Points (to losing team for not submitting score)
• Other Decision of the Executive Committee

SUPERSIX/PLAYOFFS

• Win 8 Points
• Walk Over 8 Points (to the team receiving the walkover)
• No Show -4 Points (to the team giving the walkover)
• Walk over given 0 Points (to the team showing up with fewer players)
• Draw 4 Points (to each team)
• Umpires -8 Points (to the team failing to send umpires)
• Umpires -4 Points (to the team failing to send umpires on time)
• Score Sheet 0 Points (to winning team for not submitting score)
•                 -8 Points (to losing team for not submitting score)
• Other Decision of the Executive Committee

• Points from regular season will be accumulated over the course of the
  season and get carried over to the SUPER SIX stage. As mentioned above,
  during SUPER SIX games, each win will earn teams 8 points. The idea
  here is to reward the teams that have performed consistently throughout
  the season but also give all the teams in the SUPER SIX a chance to
  cause an upset.

Playing Area:

• Cricket Ground in Kansas City, MO is under the Control of the Kansas City Cricket Club only, and must be used only as directed and according to the rules of the League, respective Park District & the Kansas City Cricket Club.
• Cricket Ground in Topeka, KS is under the Control of the Greater Kansas Cricket Club only, and must be used only as directed and according to the rules of the League, respective Park District & the Greater Kansas Cricket Club.
• Second Cricket Ground in Topeka, KS is under the Control of the Kansas Cricket Club only, and must be used only as directed and according to the rules of the League, respective Park District & the Kansas Cricket Club.
• No one is allowed to enter the playing area. Only Captain may enter the field, upon umpire’s request, in settling disputes during play. Violation of this rule carries a fine of $50.00 per incident against the offending team/club. 
• Cricket club members must pick up their garbage or deposit the trash in allotted trash holders after the game is over. Failure to do so will result in $50.00 per occasion against the offending team or club.

Responsibility of a Host Team:

• The host team must have the ground prepared at least 30 minutes before the match time. It includes:
  a) Preparing the wicket (Cleaning the pitch, setting up the stumps)
  b) Marking the boundaries (use orange cones or flags) -In KC games,use outer circle (white powder marks) as a guide when setting up boundary.
  c) Boundaries must not be adjusted during a match unless disrupted.

Discipline:

• A League Committee member, who is also a playing member of a Cricket club, cannot exercise league authority in any Cricket Match in which he is involved as an active participant or be allowed to vote on any act affecting himself or his team.
• Cricket Club members must behave with a disciplined gentlemanly attitude at all league games and functions.
• Cricket should be played not only within its Laws but also within the Spirit of the Game. Any physical or verbal (direct or implied, written or via email, on a website or internet chat groups) attack by a player(s) or a league member against:
• a) The Umpire
• b) Other Cricketers
• c) The Stumps, pitch matting, ball or other cricket gear
• d) Spectators
• e) Executive Body
• will result in the suspension and/or fine against the player(s) and/or his team, or both. Fine shall not exceed $100 per incident and shall be decided at the time of the incident by the executive committee.

Protest/Complaint:

• All claims, protest and complaints must be submitted to the executive committee, in writing within 7 days, of the incident. Correspondence should be confirmed as having been received.

Transfer:

• All registrations of players for each club/team must be completed before the commencement of the regular season. A player, who is registered with a club in the scheduled season, shall not be eligible to play for another club until a written transfer request is made to the league. There will be a transfer fee of $50.00.
• No transfers will be allowed once four matches have passed after commencement of the regular season and only one transfer per person is allowed.

Registering a New Player:

• There is no date restriction to add a new player, however, players must have played at least 3 games to participate in the post season games.

Walkover:

• The Club/Team missing the game must inform the opposing captain and the League, at least 24 hours in advance. Failure to do so will result in suspension of the team and a fine of $100. Suspension will be lifted upon the receipt of the fine.

Re-schedule:

• If two teams agree, they may request a rain effected game to be rescheduled at a later date in Topeka if grounds are available (requesting teams must check with the team who owns the ground). Both teams will be expected to self-umpire in the rescheduled game, and league will expect them to provide umpires for the games that their teams maybe assigned for that weekend. The requests will be approved on first come first serve basis and the executive committee will define the terms at the time of rescheduling.
• No rescheduling is final until it is accepted and approved by the scheduling committee. Once it is accepted and approved by the committee, the change must be known to the entire league and the updated schedule for that game should be posted on the league website.

No-Ball:

• A full-toss shall be given a “no-ball” if it is above the waist of a batsman when passing the batsman or when the batsman plays his shot.
• A full-toss shall not be given a “no-ball” if it passes below the waist of a batsman or if the ball has come down below the waist at the point of passing the batsman or by the time batsman plays his shot.
• If a batsman chooses to come down the crease to play a full-toss delivery, it shall not be given a “no-ball” even if it is above the waist of the batsman. Above the shoulder, however, may still be called a no-ball.
• Only one bouncer is allowed per over. Bouncer is a delivery that is above a batsman’s shoulder but not above his head. Any ball above a batsman’s head shall be given a “no-ball” even if it is the first time. The bowler also loses his one bouncer for that over. 
• If a bowler does not call the side (around/over the wicket), umpires shall ask him and notify the batsman. If umpires forget to ask and the bowler forgets to notify the umpire, it shall not be considered a “noball”. It is the incumbent duty of the umpire to inquire. 
• If a fielder is sitting in the ground when the bowler releases the ball from his hand, a “no-ball” shall be called by either umpire. 
• If field restriction is not honored by the fielding side, a “no-ball” shall be called by either umpire. 
• The rules above apply to all bowlers.

Wide:

• MCL Standard: 3 feet from the batsman's off stump. 
• All deliveries down the leg side shall be given wide regardless of how close the ball was to the leg stump when passing the stumps. 
• If the ball passes between the batsman and the stumps, or over the stumps, it shall not be given a wide.
• If the ball passes behind a batsman but between his bat and himself, it shall not be given a wide. 
• If the ball passes between a batsman’s legs, it shall not be given a wide. 
• Umpires are instructed to apply a very strict and consistent interpretation in regard to this Law in order to prevent negative bowling wide of the wicket. 
• A penalty of one run plus any runs scored as byes or extras shall be scored as wides.

LBW:

• Batsman must be clearly in the line of the stumps for an LBW to be given. 
• If a ball hits the batsman on his body when the batsman is outside the line of the stumps, the batsman shall not be given out. 
• If a batsman advances towards the bowler's end to play a ball and it hits him on his body, he shall not be given out unless the umpire is 100 percent sure the ball would have gone to hit the stumps. Umpires must consider the height and trajectory of the ball and whether the ball was swinging or not. 
• If a ball pitches outside off-stump and hits a batsman on his pads outside the line of off-stump, batsman shall not be given out even if the ball would have gone to hit the stumps. 
• If a ball pitches outside off-stump and hits a batsman on his pads outside the line of off-stump, batsman can be given LBW if he does not offer a shot and the ball would have gone on to hit the stumps. 
• If a ball pitches outside off-stump and comes in to hit the pad of a batsman in line of the off or middle stumps, the batsman shall be given LBW if height of the ball is not an issue. Special consideration would need to be given to leg stump in order for the decision to go against the batsman. 
• If a ball pitches outside the line of leg-stump, LBW is completely taken out of the equation and a batsman shall not be given out.
• Umpires shall consider the line and the height of the ball when an LBW appeal is made by the fielding side. 
• “All the LBW conditions must be assessed for the delivery, which takes around half a second to reach the batsman. As in other aspects of the rules, the batsman is always given the benefit of any doubt so, if an umpire is unsure, the appeal will be turned down. An example of this is if the batsman takes a step forward before the ball hits the batsman's leg. The ball might well have gone on to hit the wicket, but it is very difficult for the umpire to be certain of this, as the ball would have been 1.5-2 meters in front of the wicket as it hit the batsman's leg.” 
• Please visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leg_before_wicket for further clarification.

Field Restrictions:

• Thirty-yard inner circle will be required for each league game. For 12 overs in 40 overs game, 11 overs in 35 overs game, and 6 overs in 20 overs game fielding side can have maximum 2 players out of the circle. After finishing these overs, maximum 5 players can be outside inner-circle for the rest of the innings. 
• Fielders may be placed anywhere on the field, subject to the following rules. At the time the ball is bowled: 
• No fielder may be standing on or with any part of his body over
  the pitch
• There may be no more than two fielders, other than possibly the
  wicket-keeper, standing in the quadrant of the field behind
  square leg 
• Please visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fielding_(cricket) for further clarification.

Tie Breaker:

• If the game is not completed due to bad light or bad weather, the decision will be made using the run-rate of the 1st 20 overs of the innings, for each team. In case there is still a tie, the decision will be based on the number of wickets out.

Final Ranking & Net Run Rate:

• During the play-offs, if the game is not completed due to bad light or weather, the decision will be made using the run-rate of the 1st 20 overs of the innings. In case there is still a tie, the decision will be based on the number of wickets fallen. In such case when any comparison of that game is not possible, the game may be rescheduled if a ground is available. If grounds are not available for rescheduling, both teams will split four points each. In case of a draw or no-match situation, Final Ranking/Accumulated Net Run Rate of the regular season will be the decisive factor for that match.

Uniform:

• Players are required to wear WHITE/OFF WHITE/CREAM pants and shirts during all league and play-offs games. Off-white and Cream must be as close to white as possible.
• Players are not allowed to wear spikes footwear while bowling or batting. "Spikes" on cricket shoes generally refers to metal or hard plastic of the nature that could damage the grass or pitch. Rubber "dimples" should be ok. 
• There will be no exceptions made to the above mentioned rules and failure to comply with them will result in the disqualification of the player before the game commences and a fine of $75.00 shall be imposed on the team that player belongs to.

Umpires:

• The League shall be responsible for assigning umpires to all league regular season and play-off games. The umpires will be chosen out of a pool of volunteers from all member teams.
• Umpires are the final authority during the game. Their decisions are final decisions. If any team leaves the field they will automatically forfeit the game. 
• Umpires will remain IMPARTIAL at ALL times on the field. 
• Umpires will keep track of the number of overs while the fielder is out of the field. 
• Umpires will keep time of all intervals, and notify the Captains when to resume. 
• Umpires will submit the score sheet to the assigned League Official within 3 days after the completion of the game. 
• Umpires will be fully authorized to make any decision of any misconduct behavior by players during the game. Umpires will be asked to submit a description of the issue along with the action taken. 
• Assignment of Umpires:
• 1. For all games to be played in Kansas City, umpires will be assigned from a neutral (non-playing) team based in Kansas City. The assignment of umpires will give an equal responsibility to all teams to send their umpires. It will be the duty of the captain of every team to ensure an umpire is sent for the game on their assigned day of duty. Only main umpire is provided by the league and square-leg umpire will be from the batting side.
• 2. For first round of regular season games to be played in Topeka, self-umpiring has been approved by the scheduling and executive committees.
• 3. For second round of regular season games to be played in Topeka, umpires will be assigned from the Topeka team not playing that day.
• If captains fail to send umpires to games their teams are assigned, executive committee shall take the appropriate corrective action. As listed under points system, if umpires show up late during regular season, their team will lose 2 points and if they show up late during playoffs then their team will lose 4 points. If umpires do not show up at all, their team will lose 4 points during regular season and 8 points during playoffs. If this happens late in the season and losing points is not a sufficient penalty, executive committee can suspend the captain and/or umpires for several games at the beginning of next season. This will be decided by the executive committee at the time of the incident. Please note that the individuals responsible for such an
  undesirable incident will be penalized even if they switch teams next season. 
• If umpires are not in the ground by 10:15 am (10:45 am for Topeka games), they will be considered late and their team will be subject to corrective action as defined above.

Captains:

• Will be conversant and proficient with the laws of Cricket. 
• Will follow the constitution, rules and regulation of the Midwest Cricket League.
• Will control the behavior of all his team players. 
• Will be responsible to send umpires to games their teams have been assigned umpiring duties. 
• Will respect the umpires opinions and decisions. 
• Will be responsible to go over the rules and regulations with their players. 
• Will be the ONLY PERSON to clear doubts, confusion, talk issues with the umpires with regards to the game in progress. All other players indulging in conversation with the umpire should strictly keep it to light, casual conversations and not related to the game in progress. If there is a fight in the game, the executive committee would suspend all involved players for one game and the player(s) at fault would be penalized further. In addition, executive committee shall fine the player(s) if it deems necessary but fine is not to exceed $100. 
• Will be responsible to notify executive committee if umpires do not show up or show up late.

Award for Best Batsman:

• Highest total runs scored shall be considered first and then average if necessary.

Award for Best Bowler:

• Maximum number of wickets shall be considered first and then economy rate if necessary.

Examples of Net Run Rate:

Notes:

• a) In case of all-out, full-allotted overs will be counted.
• b) In case the team batting 2nd wins, unfinished over will be counted as a full over.
• c) Score of abandoned match would not be considered for NRR. Statistics of players involved will be considered for personal statistics.
• d) Match decided on 20 overs score, score of 1st 20 overs will be considered to calculate NRR.

Play-offs (Current Season):

• Play-Offs will begin after the end of the regular season games. Playoffs schedule will be posted on the League website, with respective match-ups based on then standings of all member clubs/teams. 
• At the end of the regular season, top six teams will advance to “super six” stage. Teams 1, 3, and 5 will constitute Pool A and teams 2, 4, and 6 will constitute Pool B. 
• At the end of super six, top two teams from each pool will advance to play semi-finals. The teams emerging as winners in semi-finals will advance to play the Final.

League Champions for the current Season:

• Winner of the Championship game of the Play-Offs will be crowned as the Championship Team of the Midwest Cricket League for the Current Year.