Selection depends on members advising the Team Secretary of their availability.
AVAILABILITY AND SELECTION POLICY FOR LEAGUE GAMES
1. Club members shall have precedence in selection over non-members. Membership must be confirmed by paying subscriptions before the end of April. The only exception will be where a member introduces a new player – the first match will normally allow them to be selected together, but thereafter the new player will be invited to become a member and be treated as below.
2. Teams will be selected from members who have positively declared themselves available before the selection meeting. Members must do this by advising the Team Secretary, either via the captain of their team after a match, by phoning the Team Secretary before the selection meeting, or by filling in their availability on the club website. At this stage the onus is on the member to communicate with the club, not the other way round. Members who state that they cannot travel on a particular week may be considered for the home team(s), but cannot be guaranteed a game.
3. Members who do not positively declare themselves available will not be considered for selection.
The only exception to this policy will be when there is uncertainty during the week around work commitments, when a member will be given the opportunity to confirm his availability no later than Thursday before the scheduled match, however note that delayed confirmation of availability does not guarantee selection. The selection committee will withdraw this extended deadline for any member who frequently does not confirm his availability before the selection meeting.
4. A selection meeting will take place before Tuesday each week. The selection committee comprises the Team Secretary, and the captains or vice captains of all the teams to be selected, all of whom will agree to be bound by this policy. When necessary, a nominated member of the main committee may also attend. If, exceptionally, a captain or his vice-captain cannot physically attend a meeting, his team selection may be carried out by phone.
5. The 1st XI captain will select, in consultation with the other members of the committee the best team he can from the players available. The 2nd XI captain will then do the same from the remaining available players .
There are many factors that may affect these decisions, including availability, recent performance, availability, youth v experience, attendance at training and the balance of the team, for example each team should have a minimum of 5 batsmen, 4 bowlers and where possible a experienced wicket keeper. The overriding principle will be the selection of a team(s) that has the best chance of winning that Saturday’s match.
6. The Team Secretary, assisted by the captains, will individually confirm that players have been selected to play by phone or text as soon as possible after the meeting.
7. The teams as they are finally confirmed will be posted on the website no earlier than Thursday, and e-mails and/or text reminders will be sent out automatically. This will confirm the team that the player has been selected to play in. It is expected that a member who has declared that he is available will automatically agree to play as selected – otherwise future selection may be affected.
8. On very rare occasions a player may need to withdraw from a team after being selected. The player should consider the effect this has, not only on the team he was selected for but also the other teams in the club. The later this withdrawal is made the more inconvenient it is for the club. Any player who does withdraw after selection should also be aware that they may be putting in jeopardy their place in the team for the following weeks.
In the event that a 1st team player replies that he cannot play, a player from the 2nd team, or one who has not previously been selected that week (a “floater”), will be selected to fill the place. A 2nd team place will be filled from those available but not yet selected
9. Using the above procedure will ensure that members are less likely to be bounced between teams from week to week. Loss of form, or improvement, will be recognised and dealt with by selection on merit.
10. All members will be expected to abide by and support this policy.
Click here
Selection_QandA.doc to see the Question and Answer guide to the process.