Cheshire Cricket League Handbook 2022

Application of the Principles and Laws/Rules It is appreciated that the application of the principles and laws/rules mentioned above will be extremely difficult. It is possible here to give a number of specific guidelines but at the same time there is always to be an element that must be left to the umpire’s judgement, bearing in mind the facts before him. It is, and must be, appreciated that some conditions will be governed by circumstances, e.g. Umpires wearing spectacles. However, the following points should be noted: Under no circumstances should play commence, either at the start of the match or after an interval, when rain is falling . In this instance, play must not begin in light rain or drizzle and should not commence simply because conditions are no worse than before the break took place. This is a situation where judgement is not required and consistency should be paramount. Once play has commenced it is the individual judgement of the umpires when to actually suspend play but the following guidelines are suggested: Play can continue in light rain or drizzle but Principle 3 indicated above should be noted. Even if the rain becomes no heavier there may become a point where play should be suspended if the conditions indicated in Principle 3 become prevalent. In the case of steady rain it will depend on the circumstances. If the weather has “closed in” and there is no sign of a break it is advisable to wait to the end of the over and then suspend play. However, if the rain is showery in nature it may be advisable to wait for say two overs before suspending play, particularly if the rain may clear after a short time. In the case of a heavy downpour, play should be suspended immediately. In the event of a thunderstorm it is again the judgment of the umpires when to suspend play although it is quite often useful to attempt to do this before the storm actually arrives in order that the pitch can be covered. However, umpires must be extremely careful not to suspend play until they are satisfied that the storm will “hit” the cricket ground itself. CONSISTENCY It is imperative that we make every attempt to be consistent, in particular in respect of starting play when there is any rain whatsoever falling on the ground. The criteria is not what is reasonable in the terms of one match but what is reasonable bearing in mind the need to adopt a consistent approach over the whole League programme. 107