Lindfield Cricket
Age Eligibility
Over the years there have been many theories and changes to what age group a player should enter. This comes from the from the NSJCA registration cut of date of 31st August that leaves many children in the same year at school but unable to play cricket with their mates as they are considered young for their age. The below table is a guide to your child's age and the recommended age based competition to enter. Note that representative teams from U12s on will strictly enforce the 31st August cut off date.
U11 players looking to play the competitive - out is out format can opt to play the U11 Stage 2 competition.
Playing down
If your player is new to cricket or still developing their skills it is possible to "play down" but requires dispensation from the NSJCA before the competition begins. This is generally granted where a player is new to cricket and is close to the cut off date. Girls are also given automatic dispensation to play down a year if playing in a mixed competition. Please contact the Juniors Registrar at juniors@ldcc.com.au.
Playing Up
It is not recommended that players play in age groups above their school year or age eligibility. Playing formats, game duration, pitch length, field size, ball weight and dismissal rules vary between age groups and are designed by Cricket Australia to maximise player involvement and enjoyment.
It is the Club's responsibility to give every player the best opportunity to succeed at the game of cricket. The Club's duty of care to the players is paramount. The more a player succeeds, the more they enjoy the game and the less likelihood they will prematurely exit the game.
While many parents believe their children are ready for, or benefit from, the tougher competition in older age groups, the statistics indicate that this rarely the case. An analysis of our playing group statistics from the 2015/6 season indicated that nearly one third of the players playing in competitions above their age group struggle badly to score runs, and or, take wickets. 73% of those played up in the younger age groups - U10 and U11. Over the last three seasons the club and NSJCA has addressed this issue by adopting the policy of players competing in their correct age group unless they are representative level players.
We also know from experience that players who struggle early in their playing career are highly likely to drop out of cricket altogether very quickly. So it is particularly important that parents in the U9 to U11 age groups consider very, very carefully if playing up age groups is in the best interest of their child before making a request to do so. Young players often struggle with the longer duration 2-2.5 hour games in U9 and above, particularly in mid summer. The club will not consider requests from underage players to skip U8's and go directly to U9. Nor will Under age players be eligible for U8's without having first completed a season of Skills Clinic.