NB. Any player under the age of 16 on 3 May 2021 will NOT be subject to rulingS PE.5A, PE.5B NOR PE.5C below for the 2021 competition

​Please note that there is an exemption process that should be understood in tandem with the rules below.
  • PE.1 - Players must be regular playing members of the club to which the participating team is affiliated, who will be expected to honour the ethos and responsibilities of being a member of their club and this competition. The only exception to this is where a player plays more cricket for another club, but that club is not participating in The Slam. Note that rules PE.4 and PE.5 are relevant to ANY club that a player plays for on a weekend, not just the club that they represent in The Slam. 

  • PE.2 - No player shall represent more than ONE team in this competition in any single year. For clarity, where a club enters a team into each of the Men's Cup and the Men's Plate, no player shall play for both teams in any single year, unless authorised by the Competition Manager following written request.
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  • PE.3 - It is not acceptable for any participating teams to play players who are remunerated in any way to play cricket, irrespective of whether it is the competing team or another club who provides the remunerations to the player.​ For the avoidance of doubt, this includes (but is not limited to) the payment of match fees and/or travel costs; the provision of board and/or lodgings; or the provision of employment, or the ability to be employed. 
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  • PE.4a - Under no circumstances should a player who has played in ANY Sussex Cricket League Premier or Division Two league matches (or equivalent), in the same season (for any club), be selected to represent any participating team.

  • PE.4b - Teams may submit to the Competition Manager a request for players to be exempt from rule PE.4a whereby a player may have only played a very limited number of matches for their club's 1st XI. This should be submitted via the designated online form ONLY and any exemption is only confirmed once it has been confirmed by email or text to the requesting team.​
  • PE.4c i - Any player that is not excluded from participating under rule PE.3 or PE.4a may participate in The Men's Cup.
  • PE.4c ii - Any player who has participated in the following Sussex Cricket League divisions in 2021 (or equivalent level in another county) shall not be eligible to participate in The Men's Plate:​
​Premier Division
2nd Division
3rd Division East & West
4th Division East & West
5th Division East, Central & West
​6th Division East, Central & West
  • PE.4c iii - For all matches in the 2021 season any player's record for 2021 should be taken into account when assessing eligibility under rules PE.4a and PE.4c. Note that normally the first two fixture windows would utilise the player record from the previous year, however the 2020 season was not conducted under the usual league formats. As such teams are expected to assess their player levels in the spirit in which the game should be played.  
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  • PE.4d - Teams may submit to the Competition Manager a request for players to be exempt from rule PE.4c ii whereby a player may have only played a very limited number of matches for a team within their club that would normally exclude them from participating in The Men's Plate. This should be submitted via the designated online form ONLY and any exemption is only confirmed once it has been confirmed by email or text to the requesting team.​​
  • ​PE.5a - In the Men's Cup, any player who has played for their (or any) club in either Division Three (East or West) of the Sussex Cricket League (or equivalent) will not be permitted to bat higher than number 6 in the batting order, nor will they be permitted to bowl any earlier than the 13th over of an innings. In a shortened match the batting restriction remains but the bowling restriction should be altered by the same ratio that the match is reduced by. ​
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  • PE.5b - In The Men's Cup, any player who has played for their (or any) club's 1st XI in either Division Four (East or West) of the Sussex Cricket League (or equivalent) will not be permitted to bat higher than number 4 in the batting order, nor will they be permitted to bowl any earlier than the 9th over of an innings. In a shortened match the batting restriction remains but the bowling restriction should be altered by the same ratio that the match is reduced by.
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  • PE.5c - In The Men's Plate ONLY, any player who has played for their (or any) club's 1st XI in either Division Seven (East, Central or West) or Division 8 (East, Central or West) of the Sussex Cricket League (or equivalent) will not be permitted to bat higher than number 4 in the batting order, nor will they be permitted to bowl any earlier than the 9th over of an innings. In a shortened match the batting restriction remains but the bowling restriction should be altered by the same ratio that the match is reduced by.
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  • PE.5d - For all matches in the 2021 season any player's record for 2021 should be taken into account when assessing eligibility under rules PE.5a, PE.5b and PE.5c. Note that normally the first two fixture windows would utilise the player record from the previous year, however the 2020 season was not conducted under the usual league formats. As such teams are expected to assess their player levels in the spirit in which the game should be played.  
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  • PE.5d - Teams may submit to the Competition Manager a request for players to be exempt from part of rule PE.5 whereby the player may be a bowler of a high standard, but their batting would not be considered as such (or vice versa). This should be submitted via the designated online form ONLY and any exemption is only confirmed once it is has been confirmed by email or text to the requesting team.
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  • PE.5e - For the avoidance of doubt, any player not covered by any of the rulings above shall not be restricted when participating in either the Men's Cup or The Men's Plate.
  • PE.6 - Teams should declare to their opponents ALL players with valid exemptions prior to the toss being conducted of any match.

  • PE.7 - Any dispute regarding players who have played for a team in this competition is to be referred, in writing, to the Competition Manager only by the designated Competition Contact for that team.

​The above is implemented in good faith as players might not be well known to the opponent given the possibility that the two sides may regularly compete in different leagues. It is in the best interests of the competition itself that clubs compete in a fair manner given this competition’s intention to promote participation & inclusion within the game of cricket.