Rules
Rules

Heartland Cricket League – Rules

 

PLAYER REGISTRATION & ELIGIBLITY

  1. Only players registered with Heartland Cricket League shall be allowed to participate in any events/activities conducted by HCL.
     
  2. Each team should register a minimum of 11 players, up to 20 players at the maximum.
     
  3. A team can add any number of players till it reaches the maximum limit of 20. Once the maximum is reached, a team can only add a new player to the list by pulling out one existing player from it.
     
  4. Under no circumstances, a player who has represented a team in a league match can represent any other team in that tournament.
  5. For a player to represent a team in the T30 play-offs, the player should have played at least 2 T30 games in the league phase. A player should have participated in at least one T20 game to play in the T20 play offs.Washed out games will not count towards qualifying for playoffs.
  6. If a team forfeits a game, the whole forfeited team will not count for that game. The team that gets the forfeit will have roster count towards a qualifying game.
  7. The Super sub is allowed for all league matches, playoffs, T20 and T30 matches. The Super sub could bat, bowl, field or keep wicket once a player was replaced; the replaced player can take over the role of 12th man. The two super subs (batting and bowling/fielding) must be declared before the toss and both can take part in their designated area of the game irrespective of the toss result (batting or bowling first).
  8. All the playing 11/12 players representing a team at the beginning of the game should be present at the ground until the play for both the innings is complete. It is the responsibility of the captain to have his team present until the completion of the game. Only in case of certain instances such as emergencies, medical issues can a player leave earlier once discussed with both the captains and they agree with the situation.
  9. If a player leaves the game/ground abruptly before the completion of the game and the opposite team captain is not informed in advance, upon receiving a complaint from the captain, HCL will consider the match as forfeit by the team from which the player was not present at the ground for the full game and full points will be awarded to the opposite team.

 

LEAGUE DRESS CODE

  1. No shorts or tank tops allowed. Players should wear whites (if playing with red ball). Dark colored uniform is recommended if playing with a white leather ball.

TEAM & PLAYER CONDUCT

  1. Captains and Players are responsible to conduct play within the spirit of the game as well as within the HCL rules, ensuring that this is adhered to.
  2. No sledging is allowed. Only captain may speak to the Umpire about any concern they might have or about a decision.
  3. Ball tampering will not be tolerated. If found guilty, a player will be banned from playing the league for the rest of season. 
  4. The captains from both sides shall ensure the boundaries are properly marked (see measurements rule mentioned below) and break intervals are strictly followed during the match. The home team shall prepare the ground with boundary cones and wickets before the scheduled start of the game.
  5. Captains shall advise members of their respective teams that the umpire’s decision is final and binding regarding the play of the game. Any individual acting in an un-sportsmanlike manner or using profanity shall not be tolerated by the umpire’s nor should it be tolerated by the team to which that individual belongs. Disciplinary action shall be taken by the team itself against the offending player. In the event the team fails to take such action against the player, the executive committee of the HCL may impose sanctions against the player and captain of the team or both, at their discretion.

 

  1. In case of repeated offence by a team, the captain & the player will be held responsible and will not be allowed to participate in HCL events based on board decision.

 

PLAYING STIPULATIONS

  1. All ICC T20 rules apply, in addition to any rule as modified or added by the HCL rules in this document. The HCL rules take precedence over the ICC rule in case of conflicts.
  2. The boundaries will be measured from the center of the pitch with following measurements (Boundary - 195 ft or 65 yards and Inner circle ​90 ft or 30 yards). 
     
  3. League matches shall consist of no more than 20 or 30 overs per side (T20 and T30 respectively), with 6 legal balls per over. Each bowler can bowl no more than 4 or 6 overs (T20 and T30 resp), one-fifth of total overs agreed prior to start of the game. All teams are required to use only the balls provided by the league for any HCL games.

 

  1. Toss should take place 10 minutes before the scheduled start of the game. For ex - if the match is scheduled for 10:00 AM, the teams should be prepared to bowl/bat at 10:00 AM and not arrive at 10:00 AM.

 

  1. The home team will have the privilege to toss the coin and the visitors can call. Captain should come prepared with the decision to bat or bowl and upon winning the toss, should let the other captain know whether he is batting first or bowling first, right after the toss. In case toss wining captain is not prepared, he should then forfeit the toss to the other captain.
  2. If a team is not fully present at the scheduled toss time, the opponent will be considered as the winner of the toss and will decide which team bowls/bats first. A team needs at least 8 of its players present at the time of toss to play the game.
  3. If a team has more than 8 and less than 11 players and agrees to start the match, the remaining players are allowed to join the match with in the first 15 mins/3 overs (whichever comes first) of the game start time. After this time/overs, it is the discretion of the opposing captain.
  4. If a team is late, for every 5 minutes, one over will be docked, and the opponent will get to bat the full quota of their overs. If a team is late by 45 minutes, they will forfeit the game.
  5. If both teams are short of minimum 8 players, both the captains can agree for a late start by reducing the number of playing overs for both teams (for every 5 minutes, one over). This should in no way affect any other league game scheduled to be played in the same ground. 
  6. The captains must exchange the list of playing eleven/twelve before the toss by updating the scorecard.
  7. Each team needs to exchange a list of four or five designated names for umpiring at the time of exchanging the playing 11/12. Please make sure the people you are nominating have adequate knowledge needed for umpiring.
  8. Substitute players shall be allowed to field for a player who has become disabled by illness or injury during the match, but not for any other reason without the consent of the opposing Captain.
  9. The substitute should be in full team gear. The substitute fielder must be a registered member as per rule #1. If a player is a substitute, that game will NOT count as a qualifying game for playoff eligibility.
     
  10. An official break should not last more than 10 minutes between the innings for T20 and 20 minutes for T30. Also, an innings should be completed within one and a half hours for T20 and two and half hours for T30. Minimal breaks for water are encouraged depending on weather conditions.
  11. Unless time has been called, the incoming batsman must be in position to take guard or his partner to receive the next delivery within [3] three minutes of fall of wicket. Should he fail to do so, on appeal, he will be declared Timed out.
  12. It is mandatory for the batsmen to wear helmet when facing a pace or medium pace bowler. 
  13. The team that is scoring are requested to provide updates frequently during the game to the team on the field.
  14. Batsmen or the fielding side captain can request for change of the ball in play if it seems unfit. If a ball is lost or deteriorates, the fielding side, if possible, should provide a ball like the condition of the match ball and both captains/umpires should agree prior to it being used.
     
  15. Captains are responsible for competent individual(s) to fully complete the scoring. Where two scorers are present, it is their responsibility to mutually agree, with the assistance of captains and umpires, if required. Any inconsistencies should be resolved as soon as possible, and no later than the end of an innings.
     
  16. Both the teams are responsible to update the score card no later than the Monday 5PM following the weekend the match takes place. If a game is washed out, both teams must submit their list of playing 11 (12 including the super sub).
     
  17. Beamer is a fast full ball that is aimed at the face/head of a batsman. The first beamer bowled by the bowler receives a warning. The bowler will not be allowed to bowl in the match if he bowls a second beamer.
  18. Any ball that lands outside the pitch and goes past the batsman will be considered a WIDE and NOT A DEAD BALL
  19. During the mandatory powerplay (first 6 overs for T30 and first 6 overs for T20) only two fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle and there must be a minimum of two stationary fielders in catching positions.
  20. When the batting team's number of overs is reduced, the number of powerplay overs shall be reduced according to the following table.

Powerplay calculation for League during reduction of overs

Overs Total

Mandatory Powerplay Overs

30

6

25

6

20

6

15

4

10

2

  1. No more than five (5) fielders for T20 and 4 fielders for T30 shall be permitted outside the fielding restriction area (the 30-yard circle) during the non-powerplay overs.

 

Rescheduling Rules:

  1. Every attempt must be made to play a match during the scheduled time.
  2. No match shall be rescheduled by individual teams beyond the weekend that it is scheduled on. If a match cannot be played on that weekend (STRICTLY DUE TO WEATHER CONDITIONS), then it will be considered a wash out and the points will be split between two teams.
  3. HCL does not encourage altering play times of any match due to non-weather-related reasons such as player unavailability. Some, but very little, leniency is provided to captains to alter play times upon mutual consent. However, if such a mutually consented, rescheduled match is washed out, the team requesting the reschedule will have to forego the points and the other team will automatically receive all points for the game.
     
  4. HCL board will monitor the "wash out" playoff matches closely and will make every attempt to arrange for playing them during the scheduled back up day the season schedule.
  5. All HCL matches should start as per schedule. However, if a team is travelling for more than 45 minutes for an away match, the travelling team can request to move the start time (say between 9:00 and 10:00 AM) and inform the home team by Thursday. Under no circumstance due to the delay of the game will impact the next scheduled game, the teams should reduce the overs to complete the game in scheduled time.
  6. Awarding of Points:

The point system used in this League shall be as follows:

Game Result

Points

Win or Walk-Over

2

Tie

1

Wash out or Draw

1

Loss

0

Forfeiting a game

-1

  1. The team scoring the most runs shall be considered the winner and shall receive 2 points. The other team shall be considered the loser and shall receive zero points.
  2. If a team fails to honor the league schedule or gives a ‘Walk-Over,’ 2 points      shall be awarded to the opponent team & the team that forfeits will receive  minus one ‘-1’.
  3. In the event both teams score equal number of runs, the game will be considered as a tie and 1 point shall be awarded to what team. There will not be a super over in league stages.
  4. In playoffs, in the event of tie, the teams shall complete in a super over to determine which team is the winner. If following a tie, weather conditions prevent the Super over from being completed, or if the match is abandoned or a no result, the team that finished higher in group stages will progress. If it’s a Final the teams will share points if the super over couldn’t determine the winner. NOTE: The super over is not included in the net run rate calculation.
  5. If a match is stopped, due to interruption, weather & light conditions included, before the side batting second has faced its required quota of overs (half of total overs) and it has not been all-out, nor has passed its opponent's score, the match shall be declared a 'No-Result' match. If half the allotted overs are played by the team batting 2nd, then the winner would be declared by DL method ( www.boltoncricket.co.uk/DLcalc.html )
  6. If match results are not reported by 5:00 PM on Monday following the game weekend & match summary and score sheets are not reported by the winning team before 5:00 PM on Wednesday, following the game weekend, 2 points shall be docked from the winning team. The same rule applies to the losing team incase if they have maintained scores separately. In case of delay, the captain/team rep should send an email to the board email (mentioned above) providing the reason for delay and ETA for submitting it.

 

 

Final Standings:

  1. In the event two "2" or more teams finish with an equal number of points, their positions in the division or overall table shall be decided in the order described below:
    1. Net run rate.
    2. Head-to-head games played in the group stages.
    3. Original group seedings

 

Holiday Park Availability:
 

  1. Matches: HCL will have exclusive use of the field on Saturdays from mid-April through the end of September between the hours of 8:30 AM & 6:00 PM.
  2. Practices: HCL will have priority of the premises from Monday through Friday for practices.
  3. Any use of the premises by entities or organizations other than the HCL shall require the written consent of the Department Director if that use is not sponsored by the HCL.
  4. Wilson Park is a smoke free zone, smoking is banned on ground and in the shelter following the West Des Moines city Parks & Rec amendment, HCL requests all captains to kindly communicate this to all individuals and any individual who fails to follow the rule will be penalized. This applies to all HCL players participating in a match or as a spectator considering we can't enforce on visitors.
  5. HCL are enforcing “Plastic Ban” after receiving repeated warnings from the city. All teams are encouraged to carry water coolers and we ask individuals to carry their own re-usable bottles. If plastic bottles are used, it is the responsibility of each team to pick up their used bottles from the ground after the match. At the end of the day, the teams playing the afternoon game should make sure there is no plastic left on the ground. If the afternoon playing teams complain to the league that the morning team did not clean up after their match, the morning teams will be informed by HCL as a warning first and then league will look at docking points or penalize the captains in some way to hold them responsible.

(It is not only important for us to enforce this from an environment standpoint but we also risk losing the ground considering the city employees in charge of mowing the ground have complained multiple times about left-over plastic bottles)

 

Playoff Format:

  1. In case of groups: Top two from each group would advance to playoffs. If there are two groups, it would be A1 vs B2 and A2 vs B1.
  2. In case of single group: Top 4 would advance to playoffs and format would be A1 vs A4 and A2 vs A3.
  3. In case of Eliminator style play offs: the top-2 two teams from the league stage play Qualifier 01, the winner of which qualifies for the finals. The losing side, however, gets another shot at glory as it goes on to face the winner of the Eliminator (Team 03 v Team 04) in Qualifier 02.

 

Playoff Schedule:

  1. If weather conditions do not favor on the regularly scheduled day for the playoff game, there will be reserve day scheduled and every effort must be made to play the game in available grounds which are as below:
    1. Holiday Park
    2. Valley View Park
    3. ISU ground

 

  1. The neutral umpires selected for the playoffs will make the final decision on the playoffs playing conditions and if the game needs to be called off or moved to another location/reserve day.

 

  1. HCL committee will have to announce the neutral umpires in advance so the playoff team captains will have a chance to request a change.

 

  1. The teams not qualified for playoffs should be available to provide umpires for the playoffs on the request from HCL. If under any circumstance the team is not able to provide the neutral umpire the team captain will be suspended to play 1 game in the next tournament.

 

  1. If the playoff game could still not be played on the reserve day, the higher-ranked team will proceed further and if it is the final, the higher ranked team out of two finalists will be winners of the tournament. If both teams are the top ranked teams, then, points would be considered.

 

  1. If points are also equal, NRR would be looked upon next, followed by head-to-head results in group stages. If everything matches, then the original seeding will be considered.
  2. Run Out at the Striker's end: 
    At any time from the moment the ball comes in to play until the instant when the bowler would normally have been expected to release the ball, the non-striker is liable to be run out if he/she is out of his/her ground.