Grade rules · 2025/26
Year 6 Hardball Post-Christmas – Grade Rules (2025/26)
Source: Year-6-Hardball-Grade-POST-Christmas-as-at-15th-July-2024.pdf, pages 4–9, tidied for reading (see “Changes from the original”).
The CJCA document is dated 15 July 2024; it was not republished and was still current in 2025/26.
Rules: Christchurch Junior Cricket Association (CJCA). Reformatted as coaching notes; see the source PDF for the official wording.
Year 6 Hardball Post-Christmas Grade Format
The objective of this grade is to give players a transitional half season playing on a longer pitch (18 m) with a grace period, rather than the “pairs cricket” they play before Christmas and in earlier CJCA grades.
Location
Year 5–8 cricket is played at various schools and council grounds, mostly on artificial wickets.
Grading
Within these divisions, especially after Christmas, there may be an opportunity to split again based on teams’ results, so that “like vs like” matches can be played and mismatches minimised.
As these are non-competitive grades, no points are awarded and no ladder is kept, but we still want results entered on the PlayHQ website. They provide useful information for grading and moving teams around. For this grade, just enter the net score for your team; don’t worry about the number of wickets taken. This means adding the runs gained by taking wickets to the runs scored by your batters. Each team should enter results.
Eligibility
Players are encouraged to play in the year group they are currently in at school. Should players wish to play down because they are new to the game or because of other circumstances, clubs should apply before the start of the season, giving the names of the players, the team they wish to play for, and a brief explanation of why a dispensation is required for each player to play down a grade.
Players may play up a grade, but parents and caregivers must be aware of the risks involved in playing ahead of their current school year. We recommend no more than one grade higher.
Time
These grades start at 9.00 am on Saturday morning, or at 4.30 pm if there is a Friday round.
Draw
The draw up to Christmas will be confirmed after grading. If the draw changes after it is published, junior club convenors will be informed.
Team Size
Year 6: 8 a side.
Teams with fewer than 8 players should first ask whether the opposition has additional players to balance the teams. If a team has fewer than 8 players, bowling limits can be extended.
Coaches should make sure all players have an equal opportunity to bat twice or bowl additional overs across the season if necessary. Where possible, opposition players should be asked to field so there are 6 or 8 players in the fielding team.
Teams with more than 8 players should try to maximise participation. Options include batting and bowling fewer overs.
Maximum of 8 players on the field at any one time. Any additional fielders must be rotated on and off the field.
Pitch Length
Year 6 Hardball post-Christmas: 18 m (yellow lines on artificial wickets).
Boundaries
We want players to hit 4s and 6s, so it’s important that boundaries are achievable. If ground conditions (e.g. long grass) prevent the ball travelling at a reasonable pace, managers and coaches should consult and agree shorter boundaries. The boundary should be marked with cones, or by a stream, path, another match, or anything else that is dangerous or stops the ball, if that is closer than these guidelines. If this occurs, a four or six is signalled.
Year 6 Hardball: 40 m or natural boundaries.
Equipment
142 g leather ball.
Batters should wear full protective equipment, including a helmet in line with the New Zealand Cricket Helmet Policy.
Wicketkeepers should always wear helmets.
Match Length
All games are one innings of 20 overs each; decide who starts with a coin toss or similar.
Time of Innings
Coaches and managers must keep the game moving so games are completed in good time.
Bowling is done in sets of 5 overs from each end, and the next batter must be ready to bat as soon as a wicket falls. Parents and supporters can be asked to make sure players are ready to go.
Match Setup
No players may field within 10 m of the batter in the area from point, forward of the wicket, round in a circle to down leg side. See Appendix 1.
So slips, gully and the wicketkeeper may be within 10 m, but there are no leg slips, silly point, or close mid-off or mid-on, in front of or behind the batter.
Batting
The batting order is rotated from game to game so that all batters have the same opportunity to bat during the season. While reticent players should not be required to open an innings, they should be encouraged to bat at 3 and 4. They should not have reduced opportunities to bat, and the same batters should not regularly open the innings.
Grace Period
There is a 6-ball grace period in this grade.
Batters who are dismissed within the first 6 balls they face in their innings are not fully out. Instead, they remain in, and the bowling side receives 3 bonus runs, added to its batting score.
From the 7th ball, batters may be fully dismissed, with no bonus runs for that dismissal.
Retirement
Taking the grace period rule above into account, batters bat until they are out or until the end of the over in which they have faced 25 balls (including wides and no-balls), when they must retire. Retired batters can return to bat in the order they retired, once all other batters are out or retired, except those dismissed during their grace period.
Where retirements occur, they may only take place at the end of an over.
Batters dismissed during their grace period may not return as a retired batter if they reach their retirement limit.
A team’s innings is complete when the available overs have been bowled or when all 8 batters are out.
Last Batter Standing
A single remaining batter keeps batting, changing ends as needed to take the strike. Only the not-out batter can face the bowling. The last batter out stays at the crease as a non-striker. Either batter may be run out to end the innings.
Early Finish to an Innings
If a team is all out, or has reached its target, before the overs are completed, the CJCA strongly encourages bowling the remaining overs. Batters then bat again in order of fewest balls faced in the innings; where this is the same, their original batting order applies. Further runs don’t change the winning target or result (circle the original score), but they let players on both sides develop further.
Free Hits
- If a no-ball is bowled on the first to seventh ball of an over, the next ball is a free hit.
- If a no-ball is bowled on the 8th ball of an over, 2 runs are scored, as no free hit can be given (the maximum number of deliveries in an over is 8).
- On a free hit, the fielding team must stay in the positions they were in when the delivery was made. Minor changes to field placings may be made if left- and right-handed batters have changed ends.
- The only way a batter can be out on a free hit is run out. To be run out, the batter must be attempting a run (or have started to and changed their mind); simply being out of the crease, or being stumped, is not a dismissal on a free hit.
- If a batter hits a free-hit delivery that is a no-ball, they score 1 run plus any runs from the shot, and the next ball is still a free hit. If the batter leaves or misses a delivery that is called a no-ball, they score 1 run for the no-ball and the next ball is a free hit.
- If a batter hits a delivery that would have been a wide, it becomes a normal delivery: they score only the runs made from the shot and can be out in all the normal ways. If the batter leaves or misses a wide, they score 1 run for the wide plus any runs they take, and they could score more from the next ball, which is still a free hit.
Dismissals
Players can be out bowled, caught, stumped, hit wicket or run out. There are no LBWs.
A player is also out if bails are being used and they don’t fall after the ball has hit the base of the stumps or any wicket, or has passed between two wickets.
Catches should be recorded against the player who took the catch, in a column of the new scoresheets.
Fielding
Byes and Overthrows
There are no limits on byes or overthrows in this grade. The CJCA wants to encourage good practices by the fielding team, and coaches should encourage good throws and the use of relay throwing so the ball is returned quickly.
Bowling
- Minimum 6 balls per over, maximum 8.
- Maximum 3 overs per bowler.
- Coaches are to make sure all team members bowl the same number of overs during the season, allowing for availability.
- No bowler can bowl successive overs.
- No bowler may bowl a 3rd over until all others have bowled 2.
- 5 overs are bowled from the same end to speed up the innings.
No-Balls and Wides
The batting side is awarded 1 run for each wide or no-ball, plus any additional runs scored.
However, in the last over, 6 legitimate deliveries must be bowled.
A wide will be called if:
- the ball passes the batter so wide that they have no reasonable opportunity to make contact with it (normal test-match wides on the off side, and halfway to that on the leg side, should be the guide).
A ball is not a wide if it is hit by, or hits, the batter. When “wide” is called, the ball stays live (batters can run).
A no-ball will be called if:
- the ball bounces two or more times, or rolls, before reaching the batter’s popping crease (bowlers can bowl from a shorter distance if needed)
- the delivery would have passed above the waist on the full, at a normal batting stance
- the delivery would have passed above the shoulder after bouncing, at a normal batting stance
- any fielder (other than the bowler) encroaches into the fielding exclusion zone before the ball is hit.
Bowling, Not Throwing
Bowlers must be coached to bowl with a straight arm and avoid throwing the ball. Those who find this difficult should bowl from a standing, side-on position, starting with a straight arm against their back leg, and aim to release the ball at the 12 o’clock position. There is no penalty for a thrown delivery in this grade.
We don’t want a bowler to gain an unfair advantage by using an obviously incorrect action. So if a wicket is taken, or a batter seems to be intimidated, the umpire should act; for example, a batter should not be given out off an obvious throw.
Ideally, a word with the opposition coach or umpire will be enough for them to speak to the bowler as soon as the action is noticed.
We don’t want to discourage bowlers from practising in a match, but we also need to protect batters.
In the extreme, a no-ball can be called if an obvious throw results in a wicket being taken.
Scoring
Scoring should be done by a parent or supporter from each team. The grades are non-competitive, so scoring is used only for grading and making sure competition is appropriate. Take care when announcing who has won or has more runs.
Score sheets are available from the CJCA website: https://www.cjca.org.nz/about-us/resources-2/grade-rules-2/
- Each team’s score starts at zero.
- 3 runs are added to the bowling side for each dismissal during the grace period.
- No extra runs are scored for wides or no-balls other than the runs obtained from hitting off the cone.
Appendix 1 – Pitch Map
Key: the dotted area is the fielder exclusion zone, reaching 10 m from the batter in front of and to each side of the wicket. The stars show that slips and gullies are permitted backward of the wicket.
Appendix 2 – Scoresheets
Changes from the original
This copy is tidied for reading. No numbers, limits or rule meanings were changed. To see the CJCA text exactly as published, switch Wording to As published in Settings.
Reorganised
- “Pitch Length:.” and its sub-heading “Year 6 Hardball – Post Christmas:” are combined into one Pitch Length section.
- Bold lines that the PDF splits across two lines are joined into one sentence each (“Batters may be fully dismissed from the 7th ball – / NO BONUS RUNS FOR THAT DISMISSAL” under Grace Period, and “Batters dismissed during their ‘Grace Period’ may not return as a retired batter / if they reach their retirement limit” under Retirement).
Added
- A short text description of the pitch map, and an editor’s note that the map is labelled 16 m although the post-Christmas pitch is 18 m.
- An editor’s note under Scoring: “No extra runs scored for wides or no balls…” contradicts the 1 run per wide or no-ball under No-Balls and Wides.
Removed
- The PDF’s own table of contents and page markers.
Wording smoothed (meaning unchanged)
- Batting: “While reticent players should not be required to open an innings, they should be encouraged to bat 3 and 4 and they should not have reduced opportunities to bat and the same batters…” → “… they should be encouraged to bat at 3 and 4. They should not have reduced opportunities to bat, and the same batters…”.
- Grace Period: “will not be fully out instead they shall remain ‘IN’ and the bowling side shall receive 3 bonus runs to be added to their batting score” → “are not fully out. Instead, they remain in, and the bowling side receives 3 bonus runs, added to its batting score”; “Batters may be fully dismissed from the 7th ball – NO BONUS RUNS FOR THAT DISMISSAL” → “From the 7th ball, batters may be fully dismissed, with no bonus runs for that dismissal”.
- Retirement: “Taking into account the above rule players bat until…” → “Taking the grace period rule above into account, batters bat until…”; “A team’s batting score is always complete when … all 8 batters have lost their wicket” → “A team’s innings is complete when … all 8 batters are out”.
- Free hits: “2 runs will be scored as no ‘Free Hit’ is given can be given…” → “2 runs are scored, as no free hit can be given…”.
- No-balls and wides: “Wides However, in the last over…” → “However, in the last over…”; the four wide bullets are combined into one wide condition plus two plain sentences.
- Scoring: “No extra runs scored for wides or no balls…” → “No extra runs are scored for wides or no-balls…”.
- Early finish, Last Batter Standing, Match Setup, Time of Innings, Location and Grade Format sentences reordered for readability.
Spelling, terms and style
- Appendix headings numbered: “Appendix One” → “Appendix 1”, “Appendix Two” → “Appendix 2”.
- “warn” → “worn” (now “Batters should wear…”); “wicket keeper” → “wicketkeeper”; “LBW’s” → “LBWs”; “4 and 6’s” → “4s and 6s”; “it important” → “it’s important”; “practicing” → “practising”.
- “No Ball” → “no-ball”; “Run Out” → “run-out”; “Free Hit” → “free hit”; “batsman” and “batsmen” → “batter” and “batters”; “less than 8 players” → “fewer than 8 players”; “less overs” → “fewer overs”; “those facing the least balls” → “fewest balls faced”; “6 ball Grace Period” → “6-ball grace period”.
- Words in capitals (for example “POST Christmas”, “MAXIMUM OF 8 PLAYERS ON THE FIELD AT ANY ONE TIME”, “IN”, “INCLUDING”, “DURING THE GRACE PERIOD”, “DOWN”, “UP”, “TWO”, “ALL”, “ALWAYS”, “MUST”, “Zero”) changed to sentence case, with bold for emphasis.
- Units written as 18 m, 40 m, 10 m and 142 g (“ten (10) metres” → “10 m”); times as 9.00 am and 4.30 pm; headings without trailing colons; the “CLICK HERE” link now names the page it opens.
Grade rules · 2025/26
Year 6 Hardball Post-Christmas – Grade Rules (2025/26)
Source: Year-6-Hardball-Grade-POST-Christmas-as-at-15th-July-2024.pdf, pages 3–9 (table of contents onward; the pitch map and scoresheet are included as images).
The CJCA document is dated 15 July 2024; it was not republished and was still current in 2025/26.
Rules: Christchurch Junior Cricket Association (CJCA). Reformatted as coaching notes; see the source PDF for the official wording.
Original table of contents
- CONTACTS
- CJCA AIMS
- GENERAL CJCA PLAYING CONDITIONS
- Health and Safety
- Pre-Match inspection:
- Reporting:
- First Aid:
- Exclusion Zones:
- Eligibility:
- Dress:
- Gear:
- Defaults:
- Year 6 Hardball – POST Christmas Grade Format
- Location:
- Grading:
- Eligibility:
- Time:
- Draw:
- Team Size:
- Pitch Length:
- Boundaries:
- Equipment:
- Match Length
- Time of Innings
- Match Setup:
- Batting
- Grace Period
- Retirement
- Last batter standing
- Early Finish to innings
- Byes / Overthrows
- Dismissals
- Free Hits
- Bowling
- No Balls and Wides
- Bowling Not Throwing
- Scoring
- Appendix One – Pitch Map
- Appendix Two – Scoresheets
Year 6 Hardball – POST Christmas Grade Format
The objective of this grade is to provide the players a transitional half season of playing on a longer pitch length (18 metres) and playing with a grace period as opposed to “Pairs Cricket” which they play before Christmas and earlier in CJCA grades.
Location:
Year 5-8 cricket is played at various schools and council grounds, mostly on artificial wickets.
Grading:
Within these divisions, especially after Christmas there may be an opportunity to split again based on the results of teams so “like vs like” matches can be played, and mismatches minimised.
As these are non-competitive grades, no points are awarded, or ladder given but we do still want results entered onto the PlayHQ website. These provide useful information for grading and moving teams around. For this grade you should just enter the net score for your team, don’t worry about the number of wickets taken. This means adding the runs gained by taking wickets to the runs scored by your batters. Each team should enter results.
Eligibility:
Players are encouraged to play in the year group they are currently in at school. Should players wish to play down due to being new to the game or other circumstances, Clubs should apply prior to the start of the season detailing the name of the players which team they wish to play for a brief explanation of why a dispensation is required for the player to play DOWN a grade.
Players may play UP a grade, but parents/caregivers must be aware of the risks involved in playing ahead of their current school year. We recommend no more than one grade higher.
Time:
These grades start at either 9.00am on a Saturday morning or if there is a Friday round, then it will be a 4.30pm start.
Draw:
Draws will be confirmed until Christmas following grading. If there are changes to draws after they are published Junior Club Convenors will be informed.
Team Size:
Year 6: 8 a side
Teams with less than 8 players should first enquire if the opposition has additional players to balance the teams. Should teams have less than 8 players bowling limits can be extended.
Coaches should look to ensure all players have an equal opportunity to bat twice or bowl additional overs throughout the season if necessary. Where possible opposition players should be asked to field to ensure there are 6 or 8 players in the fielding team.
Teams with more than 8 players should try to maximise participation. Options can include batting and bowling for less overs.
MAXIMUM OF 8 PLAYERS ON THE FIELD AT ANY ONE TIME -Any additional fielders must be rotated on and off the field
Pitch Length:.
Year 6 Hardball – Post Christmas:
18 metres (Yellow lines on artificial wickets)
Boundaries:
We want players to get 4 and 6’s so it important that boundaries are achievable for players, should ground conditions i.e. grass length prevent balls travelling at a reasonable pace then managers/coaches should consult and agree to shortened boundary sizes. The boundary should be marked with cones, or a stream, path, another match, anything that is dangerous or stops the forward momentum of the ball that may be closer than these guidelines. If this occurs a four or six is signalled.
Year 6 Hardball: 40 metres or natural boundaries
Equipment:
142g Leather ball
Full Protective equipment should be warn by batter including a Helmet inline with the New Zealand Cricket Helmet Policy CLICK HERE
Wicket keepers should ALWAYS wear Helmets
Match Length
All games are one innings of 20 overs each and should be decided who starts with a coin toss, or similar.
Time of Innings
Coaches and managers must keep the game moving to ensure games are completed in a timely manner.
Bowling is done in sets of 5 overs from each end and the next batters must be ready to bat upon wickets falling. Parents / supporters can be tasked with ensuring the players are ready to go.
Match Setup:
There are to be no players fielding within ten (10) metres of the batter in an area from point, forward of the wicket in a circle to down leg side of the batter. See Appendix 1
So, slips, gully and wicket keeper may be within 10m but no leg slips, silly point / mid off or on, in front or behind the batter
Batting
The batting order is rotated from game to game so that all batters have the same opportunity to bat during the season. While reticent players should not be required to open an innings, they should be encouraged to bat 3 and 4 and they should not have reduced opportunities to bat and the same batters should not regularly open the innings.
Grace Period
There is a 6 ball Grace Period in this grade.
Batters who are dismissed within the first 6 balls they face in their innings will not be fully out instead they shall remain “IN” and the bowling side shall receive 3 bonus runs to be added to their batting score.
Batters may be fully dismissed from the 7th ball –
NO BONUS RUNS FOR THAT DISMISSAL.
Retirement
Taking into account the above rule players bat until they are 'Out' or until the end of the over in which they have faced 25 balls (INCLUDING wides and no balls) when they must retire. Retired batters can return to bat, in the order that they retired and once all other batters have been 'Out' or retired with the exception of those dismissed during their “Grace Period”.
Where retirements occur, they may only take place at the end of an over.
Batters dismissed during their “Grace Period” may not return as a retired batter
if they reach their retirement limit.
A team’s batting score is always complete when the available overs have been bowled or when all 8 batters have lost their wicket.
Last batter standing
A single remaining batter continues batting, changing ends as necessary to receive strike. Only the not out batsman can face the bowling. The last batter out remains at the crease to play like a non-striker. Either batter may be run out to end the innings.
Early Finish to innings
If a team is all out or reached its target and the overs are not completed, it is with strong encouragement by the CJCA, the remaining overs be bowled. In such cases, the batters to be used again will be in the order of those facing the least balls in their innings and where this is the same, the order of their original batting position applies. Further runs scored don’t change the winning target or result (original score should be circled) but will enable players on both sides to develop further.
Free Hits
- If a NO BALL is bowled in the FIRST to SEVENTH ball of an over, the next ball is a 'Free Hit'.
- Where a no ball is bowled on the 8th ball of an over, 2 runs will be scored as no 'Free Hit' is given can be given as the maximum deliveries in an over are 8.
- In the case of a ‘Free Hit’, the fielding team must stay in the positions they were in at the moment the delivery was made. Minor changes to the field placements may be made when Left/Right-handed batters have changed ends.
- The only way a batter can be out from a 'Free Hit' is Run Out. To be run out you must be attempting a run, or started to and changed your mind, simply being out of your crease and being 'stumped' does not apply as a dismissal on a free hit.
- If a batter hits a Free Hit delivery that is a no ball, they score 1 run plus whatever runs are scored from the shot. The next ball remains a FREE HIT BALL. If the batter decides to leave or misses a delivery that is deemed a no ball, they score 1 run for the no ball and the next ball is a 'Free Hit'.
- If a batter hits a delivery that would have been a wide, then it becomes a 'normal' delivery and they only score runs made from that shot and may be out in all the normal ways. If the batter decides to leave or misses a wide delivery, they score 1 run for the wide plus any they may run, and they could score more from the next ball which remains a free hit.
Dismissals
Players can be bowled, caught, stumped, hit wicket and run out. There are no LBW’s.
A player is also 'Out' if bails are being used and fail to dislodge after the ball has struck either the base of the stumps or any wicket or has passed between two wickets.
Catches should be recorded against the player who took the catch in a column of the new scoresheets.
Fielding
Byes / Overthrows
There are no limits to byes or overthrows in this grade. The CJCA want to encourage good practices by the fielding team, and the coaches should encourage good throws / the use of relay throwing to ensure the ball is returned in good time.
Bowling
- Minimum Balls per over 6 – Maximum 8
- Max 3 overs per bowler.
- Coaches are to ensure that all team members bowl the same number of overs during the season - on an equivalent availability basis.
- No bowler can bowl successive overs.
- No bowler may bowl a 3rd over until ALL others have bowled 2
- 5 overs bowled at the same end to speed up the innings.
No Balls and Wides
The batting side is awarded 1 run for each wide or no ball, plus any additional runs scored.
Wides However, in the last over, 6 legitimate deliveries must be bowled.
A Wide Ball will be called if
- Any ball that passes a batter so wide that they are prevented from a reasonable opportunity to make contact with the ball is to be called a wide.
- Normal test match wides on the offside and halfway to that on the legside should be the guide.
- If the ball is struck by or hits the batter, then it is not a wide.
- Upon the call of “wide” the ball shall remain live (i.e. batsmen can run).
A No Ball will be called if
- The ball bounces TWO or more times or rolls on the pitch before reaching the batters popping crease. (Bowlers can bowl from a shorter distance if needed
- The delivery would have passed over the waist on the full at normal batting stance.
- If the delivery would have passed over the shoulder after it bounces at normal batting stance.
- If players (not the bowler) encroach into the fielding exclusion zone before the ball is hit.
Bowling Not Throwing
Bowlers MUST be coached to bowl with a straight arm and avoid ‘throwing’ the ball. Those that find this difficult should bowl from a standing, side on position, starting with a straight arm against their back leg and aim to release the ball at the 12 o’clock position. There is no penalty for a thrown delivery at this grade.
We do not want a bowler to achieve ‘an unfair advantage’ by using an obviously incorrect action, so if a wicket is gained or it is felt that a batter is being intimidated then the umpire should take action. i.e. a batter should not be given out from an obvious thrown ball.
Ideally a word with the opposition coach/umpire will be sufficient for them to have a word with the bowler as soon as the action is noticed.
We do not want to discourage bowlers from practicing in a match but also need to protect batters.
In the extreme, a no ball can be called, if an obvious thrown delivery results in a wicket being taken.
Scoring
Scoring should be done by a parent/supporter from each team, the grades are non-competitive, so scoring is only used for grading and ensuring appropriate competition. Therefore, care should be taken about announcing who has won or has more runs etc
Score sheets are available from the CJCA website
https://www.cjca.org.nz/about-us/resources-2/grade-rules-2/
- Each team’s score starts at Zero.
- 3 runs are added to the bowling side for each dismissal obtained DURING THE GRACE PERIOD.
- No extra runs scored for wides or no balls other than the runs obtained from hitting off the cone.