League Rules Incorporated 1922 let us know. Notice The Canterbury & District Bat & Trap League hereby declares itself exempt from liability for any injury or damage, howsoever caused, to any persons or property, which may arise during travelling to or from matches or playing the game of Bat & Trap. Overview The Canterbury & District Bat & Trap League has responsibility for the administration of a League consisting of a variable number of divisions, with a maximum of ten teams in each, varying according to the total number of teams in the League. It is also responsible for the administration of two tournaments, the Singles and Doubles Tournaments, and four Cup competitions, the Charles Skam Cup, Jakey Janes Cup, the Gentil Knyght Fours Cup and the Festival Cup. The eligibility for entry to the various competitions is as follows. Competition Eligibility League                    All Teams Singles Tournament Any registered player Doubles Tournament Any registered pair of players * Gentil Knyght Fours Cup  Any registered quartet of players * Charles Skam Cup       Any teams Jakey Janes Cup   Any teams Festival Cup Previous season divisional winners + League invitees * Note: This is an open competition and players do not have to be from the same team  League Administration     1.   There is an Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the League, held approximately six weeks before the start of each season. The Season runs from approximately the beginning of May to early September. The date and venue of the AGM will be notified to each team Captain by email. (This is the default and preferred method for all contacts between the League and other parties, and as much business as possible is done this way. Contact by any other means is considered to be the exception rather than the rule). Please note that this information will be sent to the current contact address that we have. Teams are strongly advised to keep this information up to date. Teams will be informed in writing if electronic contact is not possible, but this is not encouraged. The Captain will have been provided in the notification with the administrative forms required by the league in order to enter a team in the new Season. The AGM will be used to elect League officers, present accounts, set a rate for League membership, and otherwise conduct League business. Unless the League is in receipt of written confirmation to the contrary, any team not represented at the AGM will be deemed to have excluded itself from the forthcoming Season, and if it rejoins the League at a later date, it will do so in the lowest existing division.     2.   The AGM will be the venue for discussion of any proposed rule changes. If it has been decided to put a possible rule change to a vote, then the change will be effected by a simple majority of eligible voters present at the meeting. Eligible voters are those players at the meeting who were registered players in the previous season. Having regard to Rule 1 above, about the self - exclusion of teams, and taking into account any rule changes made at the AGM, the League will then be in a position to construct fixture lists for the forthcoming Season. If teams are already sure of their intentions for the coming Season, then, once the AGM has finished, they will be able to present their forms and pay their subscriptions at this meeting.     3.   Subsequent to the AGM, a Captains Meeting will be held, shortly before the start of each season. Here, any unpaid League membership fees and administrative documents will be collected, and fixture lists distributed to the Captains who are not able to obtain them electronically. Captains must check these lists for errors, which are difficult to rectify once a season has started. Any item that may have been referred to this meeting will also be dealt with.     4.   It is a requirement that all players be registered with the League, and registration lists form part of the administration documentation made available to Captains. If they were not submitted at the Captains Meeting, these lists must be received by the Secretary before the first match.     5.   The minimum age for a player is 16 years. No more than two players under the age of 18 are allowed to play for a team in any one match.     6.   Although a player may play for different teams in a season, he may only play for or otherwise represent the team with which he is currently registered. If it is subsequently discovered that this rule has been contravened then the points gained (and legs won or lost) shall be deducted from the team contravening this rule and a 2-0 win and 3 points shall be awarded to the opposing team. In unusual circumstances (such as repeated breaking of this rule), the League may impose such other penalty as it deems appropriate, at its sole discretion. To change teams a player must submit a ‘player transfer form’, which is available from the League or the League website. This way, both Captains and the League will know what is happening. Only when approval has been given by the league can a player start playing for his new team.     7.   New players may be registered at any time during the Season; this registration must be received at least 24 hours before a player is required to play.     8.   No registered player or team is to play competitive matches for financial gain.     9.   Any team which changes home venue voluntarily will be relegated to the lowest existing division. If the change is involuntary then the team will retain its current League standing. In either case the team will, if necessary, be renamed with the approval of the League.     10.   Those teams winning Cups during the season will be responsible for their safe keeping and return when they are required for presentation again the following year. If a Cup is lost or damaged in any way during this time, the League will make every effort commensurate with the scale of the loss to be compensated appropriately. If winners fail to appear for the Presentation Evening, without having given reasonable prior excuse to the league, then any cup, shield or trophy, and any individual trophies they have won may be retained by the League and the individual trophies may be recycled for use the following year. Match Administration League Matches     League matches are played on a divisional basis, fixture lists for which are issued electronically or at the Captains Meeting before the start of each Season. The fees for these matches are included in the League membership. By default they are normally played on Wednesdays, although for historical reasons there are a diminishing number of teams who play their home matches on Thursdays. These matches are played throughout the Season. Normally, the top two teams can expect promotion to the next division, and the bottom two teams can expect demotion. However, this may be varied by the League, at its sole discretion, in order to maintain a balance of teams across divisions. Skam Cup and Jakey Janes Cup     These are two identical Cup competitions, the rounds for which alternate during the Season. Any team is free to enter them, and there will be a fee payable on entry. The first round entrants will not be known until the entry forms are collected for both Cups at the Captains Meeting. These lists will be distributed to the Captains as soon as possible after the Meeting.     If there are more than 64 or 32 teams at the start, then randomly picked teams will be required to play preliminary matches. If there are less than 64 or 32 teams, then randomly picked teams will have byes to the next round. The teams for each succeeding round are also paired randomly. Once the semi-finals are reached in each Cup, the matches are thenceforward played on neutral pitches. These matches are usually (but not always) played on Mondays, and they take precedence over any League matches. Festival Cup     This Cup competition is open to the divisional winners from the previous year, cup winners from the previous year, and such other teams as may be invited by the league, at its sole discretion, to enter. It is a mandatory competition and therefore the fee is included in the League membership. The dates for these fixtures will depend on the existing Cup commitments of the teams involved, and may, therefore, be subject to revision by the league, possibly at short notice. The teams shall be randomly paired, the whole competition being pre drawn and made known to those teams in the competition at the Captains Meeting. The ties up to and including the semi finals shall be played on the pitch of the first drawn team in each pairing. The final tie shall be played on a neutral pitch, which shall be nominated by the league. These matches are normally, but not exclusively, played on Mondays. Singles and Doubles Tournaments     These Tournaments are identical in execution and open to all registered players.  Currently, the maximum number of players is 64 (Singles) and 32 pairs (Doubles). A fee is payable on entry.     All teams are invited to nominate up to 2 Singles players and 2 Doubles pairs in the first instance.  In the event of an oversubscription at this point, Singles or Pairs will be randomly removed as needed. In the event of an under subscription, teams that have already nominated players will be invited to submit one more Single or Pair by a given date, whence random selections will be made as required.     A single venue will be used for each Tournament. The venue will be notified by the League in good time. The Singles and Doubles Tournaments shall be played on separate dates also to be notified by the League. Tournaments shall be played on a knockout basis on a pre-drawn grid over the best of three legs. The Grand Final of both the Singles and Doubles shall be played as the best of five legs. Trophies     A trophy is awarded to the winning team in each of the Cup competitions, or winning player(s) in the Singles and Doubles Tournaments, and also the winning teams of each division. They are at liberty to display these for one year. Also, the first eight members of the winning and runner - up teams in all the above are awarded personal trophies to keep.     These are paid for out of League funds and are normally presented at the annual Presentation Evening, which is held after the end of the Season. The date and venue for this is usually notified near to the time. The Evening is open to all players and their spouses, but pressure of space usually means that it would in practice be limited to members of teams that have won trophies. If any teams require more than eight personal trophies, they may inform the Secretary of their requirements, and these will be supplied to the teams at cost price. Game Overview All terms in use here are described more fully later.     The game takes place between two teams of eight players. Once it has been decided which teams are to bat and bowl (by coin toss), they will repair to their separate ends of the pitch. The first batsman will go into play and will attempt to score runs as outlined later. After each time he bats, it will be the turn of a bowler to attempt to strike the trap.     The bowlers will continue in turn until such time as the batsman is deemed Out. This will continue until the entire batting team is Out. At this point the batting teams' runs will be added up, including any Extras they may have. The teams will then swap ends and the former batting team will now bowl, and vice versa. Normally, the match is the best of 3 such legs, and a match can be won, lost or drawn. However, time restrictions may come into play such that a draw may be recorded, or a match decided by who was ahead at enforced end of play. See ‘Time Restrictions’ later for details.      Match Play     1. For the purposes of League and Cup matches (except Singles and Doubles Tournaments and the Fours Cup), teams are to consist of eight players. Note: Substitutes are allowed. The process for this works in the following way. A maximum of 2 substitutes are allowed. Their names must be given to the opposing Captain before the start of the match by entering them on the scoresheet. A substitute can only join a match at the start of a leg, and the person he replaces cannot rejoin it.     2. In the event of a fixture clash, Cup matches are to take priority over League matches.     3. League and Cup matches are to start by 8.00pm. If play in a League or Cup match has not commenced by 8.15 p.m. then the first leg may be claimed by the team not causing the delay to the start time. Should play not have commenced by 8.30 p.m. then the team not causing the delay may claim the match. Please note that this is an entitlement. It is not mandatory where common sense would dictate a different course of action.     4. League and Cup fixtures must be adhered to as laid down in the fixture lists. The only exception to this is inclement weather. In the event that a team does not appear to play a match, a 2 – 0 win will be awarded to the injured party.     5. The match information and team scores are to be recorded on a suitable score sheet, which is usually of the teams' own devising. It is requested that teams retain these score sheets until the end of the Season, so that in the case of any disputes they may be referred to.     6. A Result Card, which will have been supplied to the teams electronically or at the Captains Meeting, is to be completed at the end of each match. This card is to be supplied by the Home Team. As well as the scores, the names of all the players (including substitutes) are to be recorded. It is to be signed by both Captains and also the Umpire, if there is one. If it is submitted electronically then signatures will not be possible, and results will be valid without them. If mailed, it should then be forwarded to the address on the front within two days of the date of the match. It is the responsibility of the Captain of the winning team to forward the Result Card. In any event, if the Result Card, or electronic Result Card, has not been received by the League within three calendar days of the match (not including the day on which the match was played and not including a Sunday or Bank Holiday) then the result shall be VOID and no points will be awarded and no legs won or lost will be recorded.     7. The proper conduct of the matches will be the responsibility of both Captains, except where an Umpire has been appointed, and this will end only when the Result Card has been signed by both Captains at the end of the match.     8. During the season, teams are automatically ranked in the League Tables according to the number of points they have, legs they have won and  legs they have lost, in that order. In the event that teams that are in contention for promotion or relegation are identically ranked in any division at the end of the season after this is taken into account, then the leg difference will be used to rank the teams. If rankings are still identical then a playoff will be arranged by the League at a neutral venue to decide the placing of the two teams.     9. If a dispute arises between the Captains which cannot be resolved on the spot, then, if there is no League - appointed Umpire, details of the dispute are to be forwarded to the League, who will, after consideration, take the most appropriate course of action.   10. Floodlights may be used, by Captains agreement, or Umpires decision, but they cannot be switched on until the start of a new leg.   11. If a team has less than 8 players at the start of a match, and the missing player or players arrive late, they must not join in play until the start of a new leg. Also, Ladies are not allowed to play in any matches.   12. A team that has less than eight players when bowling will be penalized in the following way: in each round of bowling, when every player who is present has bowled, there will then be given one run per absent bowler to the batting team. These runs are to be added to the score of the batting teams as Extras. They are not added to the score of the batsman currently in play.  Time Restrictions     In order to ensure matches finish at a reasonable time, time restrictions come into operation under certain conditions. These time restrictions take the form of bowl outs, which are substituted for the playing of a leg. There is a ‘Normal’ bowl out for League matches, and an extra ‘Sudden Death’ bowl out for use in Cup matches only, since these must end in a win. Restrictions happen in the following circumstances:        1. If a third leg is required in any match (league or cup) this must commence no later than 10:15 p.m., otherwise it must be decided by a ‘Normal‘ bowl out (see below). 2. (CUP ONLY) If the match remains level after three legs (won or tied) have been played, the match shall be decided by means of a ‘Normal’ bowl out. 3. (CUP ONLY) If a match is still level after a ‘Normal’ bowl out, then it will be decided by a ‘Sudden Death’ bowl out. 4. (LEAGUE ONLY) If a match reaches a time curfew that may have been imposed on a venue by Environmental Health officers, then the leg in play shall be ignored, and the final result shall be the score before the leg started.     ‘Normal’ Bowl Out Description     The team to bowl first shall be decided by the toss of a coin, the team winning the toss choosing whether to bowl first or second. 1. The player in each team who bowls at No.1 shall each bowl a delivery, followed by the No.2 and subsequent players in each team, and the number of traps hit shall be recorded and compared.  2. Once it becomes impossible for one team to win the leg, the bowl out ends immediately. 3. If the total number of traps hit by each team is equal then, in a league match, the third leg shall be declared tied and is therefore void. In the case of a cup match a sudden death bowl out will be played.       Sudden Death Bowl Out Description     The team to bowl first shall be the team that won the toss of a coin for the ‘Normal’ bowl out. 1. The first bowler in each team shall bowl a delivery at the trap. 2. If the number of traps hit is still equal then the second bowler in each team shall bowl a delivery at the trap and so on until the leg is decided by the first person to miss the trap losing the match for his team.        Note: in the event that one team is short of bowlers through absence this shall not affect the ‘Normal’ Bowl Out or ‘Sudden Death’ Bowl Out. Each bowler present shall be entitled to bowl at the trap. The team that is short of bowlers will effectively suffer the same penalty as they would bowling in a normal leg. Bowling Rules 1. The bowling team shall remain in its entirety at the bowling end until the leg in play is completed. If a bowler is not present and ready to bowl when it is his turn, he will miss this turn and 1 run will be given to the opposing team, and is added as an Extra run 2. Each bowler in the team shall bowl only once in each round, and the ball shall be bowled underarm. If the bowler has bowled a legal ball, and the  ball strikes the flap of the trap and knocks it over then the batsman is deemed to be out, and it is the turn of the next batsman. 3. A bowler must have at least one foot on the ground behind the bowling line at the moment he releases the ball. If not it is deemed a no ball.    Batting Rules 1. If a batsman is not present and ready to bat when his turn comes he will be deemed to have knocked out and will miss the turn. Each batsman who does play shall bat until he is out by one of the methods outlined in [3] below. 2. Before he hits each ball, the batsman is allowed to hit the trap striker twice, as long as he does not attempt to hit the ball. He must attempt to strike the ball the third time. 3. A batsman will be deemed out in the following circumstances: o If he does not hit the ball between the posts at the bowling end o If he hits the ball between, but higher than, the posts at the bowling end o If the ball is caught at the bowling end, without having touched the ground, by any bowler with one or both feet behind the bowling line        4.   Once a batsman has struck the ball he must stand still, and to one side of the trap, not behind it.     5.   If the batsman has struck a legal ball, and the next bowler then misses the trap, the batsman will have scored a run.     Pitch & Equipment     1.   The game shall be played on a grass pitch, 21 yards long and 13 feet 6 inches wide, which has been suitably marked with lines along each side. Across the width, the line at one end is the bowling line, and at the other, the batting line.          2.   A pair of triangles of suitable construction is required, dimensioned 1 foot 6 inches on a side, and 5 inches deep. They will have a hole in the centre, into which a pole is inserted, such that it is 7 feet high, measured from ground level. The triangles are set at the bowling end, on each side of the pitch, with the base on the bowling line, and the apex pointing along the sideline.     3.  The trap: The only rules about trap construction are that there is to be a hinged flap at the front of the trap, and that this is to be 5 inches square. It is to be painted white, with a 21/4 inch black circle in the centre. It is set centrally at the batting end, with the flap on the batting line.              4.   A legal bat will have a striking surface oval in shape, not exceeding 8 inches long by 51/2 inches wide.     5.   The ball shall be made of solid rubber. It will be 2 and 1/2 inches in diameter and 7 and 1/2 ounces in weight.      Copyright (©) 2010 Canterbury & District Bat & Trap League League Rules Incorporated 1922 88^th Year Incorporated 1922