JUNIOR PLAYERS IN OPEN AGE CRICKET

Guidance Notes

The minimum age to play adult cricket is 12 with the exception of County players, aged 11, who have been given written permission by their County board.

The below consent form is required to be completed for a Junior Cricketer aged 12 to play in Open Age. Capitalised terms appearing in these Guidance Notes are defined in the ECB's Recreational Cricket Safety Regulations.

Making the transition from junior Age Group cricket to Open Age Cricket is a significant event in any player's cricket journey. This step should not be taken lightly, and great care must be given before allowing children to play adult cricket.

Children's early experiences will remain with them throughout their cricketing career and will determine whether they want to retain their long-term involvement in the game.

A young player will see the opportunity to play in Open Age Cricket as the natural next step: they may have peers who have already transitioned to this format of the game, but it is the responsibility of the player, parents/carers and the Club to ensure the environment is appropriate and the player is ready to make the step up to the open age format of the game.

The regulations around when a player can play in Open Age Cricket are:

1. Subject to the exceptional circumstances outlined in paragraph 2 below, Junior Cricketers are not eligible to play Open Age Cricket until they are 12 years old. Written parental consent is also required.
2. In exceptional circumstances only, a player who
1. is 11 years old;
2. has started school year 7;
3. is selected for a squad in either County Age Group Cricket or a Sub-County Programme;
4. has written approval from their County Talent Pathway Lead; and
5. has written parental consent,

is also eligible to play in Open Age Cricket.

Considerations

The decision to play Open Age Cricket should be a positive step in that child's development.

Before allowing a child to take part in the open age format of the game, the parents/carers of the child should be satisfied that the appropriate measures have been taken by the Club to ensure a suitable and safe transition.

Do's

1. The player feels confident that they are ready to play in adult cricket.
2. The Club is happy the player can play in adult cricket (in terms of skill and physical ability, and emotional confidence and maturity), and sees it as a positive step in that player's development.
3. The club has the appropriate DBS checked individuals to supervise the player.
4. The player has been invited to training and/or is familiar with individuals in the team.
5. The player is integrated into the team and the Club has the appropriate age-specific socialising environment created to ensure any junior players are included.
6. The Club adheres to the ECB's Safe Hands Policy (for example around appropriate changing facilities, social media groups, transport to and from cricketing activities etc.)

Don'ts

1. Ask the player to play when they are clearly not confident enough to do so.
2. Put a young child in a position that involves an unreasonable physical or emotional risk to them.
3. Simply ask a young player to play to make up the numbers.
4. Isolate that player from certain aspects of the team (such as social events and decision making on the field).

Disparity Policy

Clubs must ensure that playing a Junior Cricketer in Open Age Cricket does not create a situation that places members of the opposing team in a position whereby they cannot play cricket as they normally would do against adult players. Where a Club considers that the playing of a Junior Cricketer in Open Age Cricket is leading to a situation of potential disparity where there is a concern regarding the safety or ability of a player (or players) to compete, the processes contained in the ECB's Disparity Regulations should be followed.