Est. 1936
Wooburn Narkovians Cricket Club
ECB Directives

ECB Directives for Young Players

The England and Wales Cricket Board has issued a number of directives relating to cricket for young people. These govern the number of overs that a medium pace or fast bowler may deliver consecutively, the wearing of protective helmets for batsmen and wicket-keepers, and field placings for young people.

As a responsible club, Wooburn Narkovians adheres to all of these directives.

Fast Bowling

A fast bowler is described as a bowler to whom a wicket-keeper of the same age group would stand back to.

Wearing of Helmets

All young players who have not reached their 18th birthday must wear a helmet with a faceguard when batting and when standing up to the stumps when wicket-keeping. This guidance applies to all players up to the age of 18, both in adult cricket and in all junior cricket played with a hard cricket ball. The guidance also applies to practice sessions.

Fielding

No young player in the Under 15 age group or younger shall be allowed to field closer than 8 yards from the middle stump, except behind the wicket on the off side, until the batsman has played the ball. For players in the Under 13 age group and below, the distance is 11 yards. These minimum distances apply even if the player is wearing a helmet.

Should a young player in these age groups come within the restricted distance the umpire must stop the game immediately and instruct the fielder to move back.

In addition, any young player in the Under 16 to Under 18 age groups, who has not reached the age of 18, must wear a helmet and, for boys, an abdominal protector (box) when fielding within 6 yards of the bat, except behind the wicket on the off side.

Players should wear appropriate protective equipment whenever they are fielding in a position where they feel at risk.

These fielding regulations are applicable to all cricket in England and Wales. Age groups are based on the age of the players at midnight on 31st August in the year preceding the current season.