HAMPSHIRE MEN'S PLAYER ELIGIBLITY RULES
All Teams should remain conscious throughout their time in The Slam that the below rules are fundamental to the success of The Slam, and as such, a significant level of the health of the recreational game in the county. Therefore willful action against these rules will be viewed in an appropriately dim light and may result ultimately in expulsion from The Slam.
- HP-MPE.1 - All rules in relation to Player Eligibility are relevant to ANY club that a player plays for on a weekend, not just the club that they represent in The Slam.
MULTIPLE TEAMS
- HP-MPE.2a - No player shall represent more than ONE team in any ONE version of this competition in any single year.
- HP-MPE.2b - An exception to HP-MPE.2a is where a club enters two teams a player IS able to play for both teams in any single year in the group stages ONLY so long as they meet the eligibility criteria for the version they are playing in at the given time as per rules HP-MPE.4 and HP-MPE.5.
- HP-MPE.2c - The only other exception to HP-MPE.2a is where a player has formally transferred from one to club to another via the official process employed by the weekend league(s) in which that club participates. Upon submitting written evidence of that transfer, and receiving written confirmation of acceptance from The Slam, that player will be permitted to participate for the remainder of The Slam season for their new club's team(s) ONLY, they are not permitted to continue playing for the team(s) entered by their old club regardless of whether they participate in a different level of competition or not. The ongoing eligibility of the player will be judged based on their performance in that season AS A WHOLE and not just whilst playing for their new club. The deadline for transfers will be in line with those of the associated weekend league(s).
INELIGIBLE PLAYERS
- HP-MPE.3a - Players who have played in ANY First Class or List A matches in any country since 1ST MAY 2021 shall NOT be eligible to participate in any Slam competition.
- HP-MPE.3b - Players who have been registered under either "CATEGORY 2" or "CATEGORY 3" in ANY competition in the same season (for any club) shall NOT be eligible to participate in any Slam competition.
An exemption will be granted for those players who’s registration under Category 3 has been accompanied by evidence of a valid Work or Student visa that enables them to temporarily reside in the United Kingdom at the time of their participation in The Slam.
The team is required to submit an exemption request to The Slam using the EXEMPTION FORM ONLY and The Slam will validate the request through consultation with the competition that manages the registration. Under no circumstances should pictorial or documented evidence of either a Work or Student visa be submitted to The Slam. For clarity the registration categories are as follows: CATEGORY 1
CATEGORY 2 Contracted Player :- A player (capped or uncapped) qualified to play for England under the current ECB regulations and, currently, under contract to a First-Class County Club. For the purposes of clarification, a contracted player is one who has a current full playing contract, a summer contract or a development (Rookie) contract but not an Academy contract (16-19 years) CATEGORY 3 Players not eligible to be registered as a Category 1 or Category 2 Player must be registered as a "Category 3 Player" if they wish to take part in the League. |
- HP-MPE.4a - Any player who has played in ANY Southern Premier Cricket League match (or equivalent), in the same season (for any club) shall NOT be eligible to participate in any Slam competition.
- HP-MPE.4b - Teams may submit to the Competition Manager a request for players to be exempt from rule HP-MPE.4a whereby a player may have only played a very limited number of matches at this level of competition that would normally exclude them form participating in The Men's Cup. This should be submitted via the designated online form ONLY and any exemption is only confirmed once it has been confirmed by email or text to the requesting team.
- HP-MPE.4c - Any player that is not excluded from participating under rule HP-MPE.3 or HP-MPE.4a may participate in the competition.
- HP-MPE.4d - For the FIRST FIXTURE WINDOW ONLY the player's record from the previous season shall be utilised to assess whether a player is eligible to participate in The Slam unless the XI of the club in question was either promoted or relegated at the end of the previous season then the assessment will be made upon the division that XI is competing in for the CURRENT season and NOT that of the previous year. AFTER the first fixture window of the current season is complete the player's record for the current season only shall be used to assess eligibility.
RESTRICTED PLAYERS
- HP-MPE.5a - Any player who has played for their (or any) club in either Division One of The Hampshire Cricket League or Division One of The Thames Valley Cricket League (or equivalent) will not be permitted to bat higher than number 6 in the batting order, nor will they be permitted to bowl any earlier than the 13th over of an innings. In a shortened match the batting restriction remains but the bowling restriction should be altered by the same ratio that the match is reduced by.
- HP-MPE.5b - Any player who has played for their (or any) club in either Division Two of The Hampshire Cricket League or Divisions Two fo The Thames Valley Cricket League (or equivalent) will not be permitted to bat higher than number 4 in the batting order, nor will they be permitted to bowl any earlier than the 9th over of an innings. In a shortened match the batting restriction remains but the bowling restriction should be altered by the same ratio that the match is reduced by.
- HP-MPE.5c - For the FIRST FIXTURE WINDOW ONLY the player's record from the previous season shall be utilised to assess whether a player' participation in The Slam is restricted, unless the XI of the club in question was either promoted or relegated at the end of the previous season then the assessment will be made upon the division that XI is competing in for the CURRENT season and NOT that of the previous year. AFTER the first fixture window of the current season is complete the player's record for the current season only shall be used to assess whether any restriction is appliacable.
- HP-MPE.5c - Teams may submit to the Competition Manager a request for players to be exempt from part of rule HP-MPE.5a or HP-MPE.5b whereby the player may be a bowler of a high standard, but their batting would not be considered as such (or vice versa). This should be submitted via the designated online form ONLY and any exemption is only confirmed once it is has been confirmed by email or text to the requesting team.
- HP-MPE.5d - ANY player under the age of 16 on 13th May 2024 will NOT be subject to rulings HP-MPE.5a or HP-MPE.5b and as such no Player Exemption request is required.
MANAGEMENT OF PLAYERS WITH EXEMPTIONS
- HP-MPE.6 - Teams should declare to their opponents ALL players with valid exemptions prior to the toss being conducted of any match. For the avoidance of doubt this should include any players exempt due to being under 16 on 13th May 2024 as per HP-MPE.5e.
DISPUTE OF A PLAYER'S ELIGIBILITY
- HP-MPE.7 - Any dispute regarding players who have played for a team in this competition is to be referred, in writing, to the Competition Manager only by the nominated prime contact for that team.