Introduction:

Welcome to Online Cricket League (OCL). Below is a summary of the rules you will need to take part in the competitions offered under this organisation. Please read them carefully and refer to them if you need help.

Signing Up:

If you have read the rules and like what you see, then send me an email at; [email protected] with the details of your team, as per TEAM CREATION instructions below. Please put CRICKET LEAGUE in the subject line to avoid automatic deletion.

Team Creation:

The first step you need to go through in order to play in this competition is to give your team a name and fill in some details relating to that team. This information will go on to the official team website.

NAME:           South Side Terriers     
GROUND:         Terrier Park            
COLOURS:        Red Shirt, Blue Trousers
SPONSOR:        Bacardi Rum             
MANAGER:        Jim Benson              
EMAIL:          [email protected]    

The Squad:

The Squad is made up of no more than eighteen (18) players and has several stats which need to be explained. It will look something like this;

(Your Squad Name)
NAME		HND	TYPE	BAT	BOWL  ROLE
Player One	??	??	42	99    
Player Two	??	??	43	35    C
Player Three	??	??	32	32    VC
Player Four	??	??	12	12    
....
....

NAMES refers to the eighteen player names that comprises a squad. Depending on the competition these can be based on real-life players, or purely fictional characters.

HND refers to the hand the player uses to bat and/or bowl with, either LH or RH (Left or Right Handed).

TYPE refers to the sort of bowler the player is. All players are deemed bowlers except 'Keepers who are listed as "Keeper" in this column. The six bowling options are; Off-Spin, Leg-Spin, Slow, Medium, Medium-Fast, Fast. "Slow" is considered a generic part-time bowler, usually of batsmen with a high bowling average.

BAT refers to the Batting rating of a player. The higher this score is, the better the batsmen.

BOWL refers to the Bowling rating of a player. Unlike a batsmen, the lower this number is the better the bowler.

ROLE refers to whether or not your player has a special attribute such as Wicket Keeper, Captain or Vice Captain. In the case of Wicket Keepers, these players cannot bowl.

The Player/Transfer System:

The Squad Lists refer to 'In Contract' (IC) players, and the Transfer List refers to 'Out of Contract' (OOC) players. The Player/Transfer System follows six steps. They are; Player Adjustments, Retirements/Out of Contract, Manager Clearout, Interclub Transfers, Draft Selection, Nomination of Roles.

Player Adjustments

At the end of each season, players ratings will be adjusted to reflect their success or failure the previous season. These adjustments may impact greatly on a managers plans for the next season.

Retirements/Out of Contract

The second phase is two-fold. Firstly, players are given the opportunity to retire from the game altogether to 'spend more time with the family' and the second concerns players who have 'reached the end of their contract' in which case they will be placed on the Transfer List. Ex-players can be re-signed by former clubs through the Draft System.

Both of these are run independently of manager interference and reflects a players personal unpredictability. These rumblings, grumblings and ambitions in turn effect the ability to put forth a winning side on a yearly basis. It is also designed to prevent the transfer market becoming stale.

Manager Clearout

The third phase involves managers making a conscious decision to 'remove some of the deadwood' from their team. Got a player who seems to be going backwards? Need some room for a new, better transfer? Don't like a player? - now is the time to wield the axe.

Interclub Transfers

The fourth phase of the Transfer System involves managers trading players. As the OCL doesn't use money to conclude deals (at this time) players can only be traded for other players or 'given' to other clubs for no return. Either way the player you designate will be removed from your club prior to the formal Draft.

Draft Selection

The Draft itself allows managers to pick up new players for their squad from the Transfer List. In the very first season, all team recruiting will cut straight to this phase.

There are some straight-forward processes to observe in the Draft;

1. Each team will select three players they wish to sign from the Transfer List
2. Teams will be drawn one by one and their selections itemised.
3. After two rounds of team selections, the Transfer List will be updated.
4. Go back to first process until all teams have eighteen player slots filled.

All teams must have at least two wicket keepers in their final eighteen.

Nomination of Roles:

Finally, just prior to the new season starting, the Transfer System is completed by this phase which sees all managers submitting a Captain and Vice Captain. This is the player who will attempt to win you matches on the field.

Injuries:

Throughout the course of the tournament, players may find themselves missing matches because of "injury". He will miss one match each time he is injured and will be available again, provided he isn't "injured", for the next round of matches. If he is already injured there is an increased chance he will miss out the next game as he recovers. Therefore, squad depth is important.

If the injuries forces a team to field less than 11 players, then an injured player will need to be selected for the team, albeit with reduced stats.

The Pre-Game:

Prior to each game, the managers will give the GM a list of 11 players from their squad. These players make up the team who will take part in the upcoming match. This team will be in batting order and all team lists must contain one Wicket Keeper (who cannot bowl), one Vice-Captain and one Captain designated on their teamsheet.

Players will also be asked to list their bowling attack which is then given to the Captain of the team to work with - the rest will not be used during the game (exception: if your Captain is getting desperate for alternatives to the bowling set that is getting a drubbing, he may seek bowlers not specified by you). A maximum of 10 bowlers (the whole team if you like) can be used during the course of the match, a minimum of 5 must be selected.

Here is an example of the sort of teamsheet layout I am looking for... TEAMSHEET

The Game:

Each inning will be 50 overs per side with a maximum of 10 overs per bowler, as per the rules of one day cricket. The matches will be processed through a simulator.

Roleplaying:

After each match, I encourage managers to contribute some sort of a "roleplay". The form for this roleplay is pretty much up to the player, keep it entertaining and realistic. This could be a post-match press conference, player interview, training ground news, newspaper article or perhaps just some thoughts on the future for you or your team. It doesn't have to be anything long or Shakespearean in quality, but it all helps to add depth to the game. Managers are also encouraged to write some sort of summary at the tournaments conclusion based on team thoughts.

Club Championship Structure:

The competition will begin when eight teams have signed up for the league. It will involve a single division, wherein all eight teams will play each other HOME and AWAY, gaining points for their results. The top two teams will play in a one-off final to decide the competition winner. League expansion and new trophys will come should time and interest allow it.

Nations Cup Tournament Structure:

Previously we have run two international competitions in tournament form called the Nations Cup which comprised six teams playing each other once in a league format, with the top two going through to a one-off final. The results of these competitions can be seen on the main page.

Code Of Conduct:

For the purposes of smooth running and enjoyment for all concerned, this league runs on a code of conduct as outlined below.

Personal abuse either to managers or staff will get you thrown out. I also take a dim view of email flame wars, immature squabbles to see who can get the last word in and snide remarks which run the league down. Remember, I am under no obligation to keep you in the league.

Don't form political cliques. PBEM's are notorious for politicking behind the scenes amongst players who like to throw their non-existent weight around. In my games, there is no such thing as safety in numbers, and no, I don't care if you are the best player we've ever had, if you are involved, you are gone. Instead of wasting time politicking, put forward suggestions in a professional manner, I can't guarantee all ideas will be used, but who knows it might be just the thing I am looking for at that moment or may be implemented later.

Don't alter the game, email, group, website, teams or anything associated with the league unless expressly asked to by the GM. This also includes other managers games, turn, email, messages or anything else associated with them without their express permission.

Don't Cheat. This includes running multiple accounts, identities, teams. I have no doubt if you tried hard enough to beat a system put in place by a games GM you could, but there is one thing that can never be beaten by cheating YOU. See how good you are using hard work, determination and a bit of brain power.

If you see something on the website that doesn't look quite right or some stats or result are out of whack, let me know so we can fix it up quickly before the problem compounds itself.

Each manager is responsible for their team, not the OCL staff or other managers. Unfinished work will not be completed by the management and unsubmitted applications will result in missing the competition turn altogether.

If you have to leave the game for a short time be it holiday, work, family commitments, I understand, that's life, but let me know. In return if I need to suspend the league for a period of time I will keep you advised of the situation.

In conclusion, be professional at all times or you may be banished for all time.

GM Notes:

Of course, as with any game there are limitations, both personally and in method, I will however strive to use the best systems available to me to ensure that realism and enjoyment is maintained. I also urge managers to keep their eyes and ears open for new systems available to advance the league also.

Finally, The game as outlined here is not necessarily the final form, I reserve the right to amend, delete, and introduce aspects of the game when necessary.

Let's play some cricket!