Bassetlaw and District Cricket League Official Handbook 2021

Qualification & Registration of Players Document D P a g e | 3 1.12 From 2021, there will be a revised classification for overseas players. Henceforth Category 3E will be known as Eligible Players. An Eligible player is someone who has spent 210 days or more in the UK in the previous year (specifically 1 April to 31 March). All other cricketers will be regarded as Unqualified. Eligible players will be registered as Category 1. There is no limit on the number of Eligible players a club may register. As well as the club submitting Form C3, and the player Form P3, it is a requirement that all clubs be expected to maintain their own register (and keep tab on the 210 days) of who will be regarded as Eligible. Players wrongly registered as Eligible will be treated as illegal immigrants by the Home Office. Professional Players must be registered using Forms C6 and P6. 1.13 Players are regarded as Professional if they have been registered with a professional or semi-professional team (including Pathways and age group from U17 in those teams and clubs) in the four years prior to entering the UK, if they have received payment (in kind) including travel and accommodation in the past 4 years, if they have used an agent to further opportunities in cricket and if they have played for a national side (U17 upwards) in the previous two years. These players are NOT permitted to play recreational cricket in the UK. The BDCL is obligated to ensure as far as possible that these rules are adhered to. Refer to Rule 1.17. 1.14 Players who are not normally resident in the UK but hold a UK passport, or are resident with a spousal or an ancestral visa are permitted to play as Category 1. Form C2 must be completed before the player can be officially registered. 1.15 For the purposes of all players normally resident overseas (residing in the UK for less than 210 of the year), playing for a club outside the UK in the preceding close season will count as having played in the Current Season. 1.16 A player who would ordinarily be registered as an overseas player, but whose exceptional circumstances, in the opinion of the League Management Committee, merits inclusion within the spirit of this rule, will be permitted to play on a purely recreational basis in Divisions 4 or below, or a club’s second XI should they play in a higher division (and the club does not have any additional teams. Professional Overseas Player (Tier 5 Creative and Sporting Visa) 1.17 Clubs may obtain the services of one professional overseas player/coach. Clubs must apply to the Border Agency for a sponsor’s license and obtain a Tier 5 creative and sporting visa before they can employ an overseas player/coach under the ‘points-based managed migration system’. Rules 1.9 to Rule 1.15 still apply. The player must be in possession of a Tier 5 creative and sporting visa before they can be registered.