Umpire Philip Radcliffe watches closely as Pudsey St Lawrence's talented junior Kassir Maroof bowls against Farsley

It has been brought to our attention that certain captains are not adhering to JCT 600Bradford Cricket League Rule 42 regarding fast bowling directives for junior players. A junior player is deemed to be one who is under 19 on September 1 in the previous year.

Rule 42 states:
“ECB Regulations for junior players regarding fast bowling will be applied in all games under the jurisdiction of the JCT 600 Bradford Cricket League.  Failure to act within the above regulations may render the club, captain or coach, liable in the event of injury and may invalidate any insurance cover.”

Should a captain fail to replace a bowler at the end of his maximum overs you should adopt the following procedure:

1 Advise the fielding captain that the bowler has come to the end of the maximum number of overs he is allowed to bowl and request that he replaces him as per League Rule.

2 Should he refuse to act on your request you should inform him that you intend to report the incident to the League Management Board at the conclusion of the match.  You should also inform the batsmen at the crease of your intention and the captain of the batting side at the end of the innings.

3 At the end of the match you should follow the procedures laid down in League Rule 45 and Umpires Association Rule 9.

We as umpires are not responsible for any possible injury and can only advise captains of their duties in relation to the above requirements.

"Fast Bowling" is defined as -"bowling, to whom a wicket keeper in the same age group, would in normal circumstances, stand back to take the ball"

The following ECB regulations for junior players regarding Helmets and Fielding, will also be applied in all games under the jurisdiction of the JCT 600 Bradford Cricket League.

a. HELMETS (Batting & Wicket Keeping)
All players under the age of 18 years old MUST wear an approved helmet fitted with a protective grill, when batting or during practice with a hard ball. A helmet must also be worn when wicket keeping if standing up to the stumps. Club captains and coaches are responsible for ensuring that this regulation is enforced.
Umpires should obtain an assurance from the player and captain if they have any doubts about the age of the player.
A young player may only bat (or keep wicket) without a helmet on production of a consent form signed by a parent or guardian. Such consent must be on an officially approved form which indicates that the parent or guardian accepts the risk involved and absolves the club and league from liability in the case of injury.   

b. FIELDING
Captains are required to ensure that these restrictions are not infringed.
Umpires are required to stop the game until all junior players are suitably positioned.
i.) Under 13
Players under the age of 13 cannot field closer than 11 yards away from the middle stump except behind the wicket on the off side.
ii.) Under 15.
Players aged over 13 but under 15 cannot field closer than 8 yards from the middle stump except behind the wicket on the off side.
iii.) Under 18.
Players aged over 15 but under 18 should wear a helmet when fielding within 6 yards of the bat, except behind the wicket on the off side