What’s changed · 2026/27
What’s Changed – Mini Mags (Girls Division 5), 2025/26 to 2026/27
Sources:
- 2025/26: CJCA Kiwi, Year 3-4 & Mini Mags “Outfield Cricket” grade conditions, “as at 26th September 2025”. This was one document for Kiwi, Year 3 & 4 and Mini Mags. Mini Mags is named only in its title, so the Mini Mags rules for 2025/26 are the shared and Year 3 & 4 rules. The CJCA Girls Grade Summary as at 28 July 2025 confirms this format for Mini Mags. See the Mini Mags rules (2025/26).
- 2026/27: CJCA Year 3-4 & Mini Mags “Outfield Cricket” grade conditions, “as at 26th August 2026”. This document names Mini Mags in most format clauses. Kiwi now has its own document. See the Mini Mags rules (2026/27).
This compares the two documents clause by clause for Mini Mags, and cross-checks the CJCA’s 2026/27 announcements and the 2026/27 Girls Grade Summary. The rule changes are the same as for Year 3 & 4. The difference for Mini Mags is that most format rules now name the grade.
How to read the table:
- Same means the 2026/27 rule means the same as the 2025/26 rule.
- Rows whose rule name is in bold are the ones coaches and umpires need to apply differently this season.
- ⚠ marks a rule where the 2026/27 rules and the 2026/27 announcements or Girls summary don’t agree, or where the rules contradict themselves.
Rules: Christchurch Junior Cricket Association (CJCA). Reformatted as coaching notes; see the source PDF for the official wording.
What’s changed – at a glance
- Mini Mags is now named in the rules: start time, team size, players on the field, pitch length, boundary and hitting tees now say “Mini Mags”. The values are the same as the Year 3 & 4 values that applied in 2025/26: 8 a side, 14 m, 30 m, 5.30 pm Friday or 9 am Saturday.
- Citywide grade: “Mini Mag at this stage are a citywide grade.” In 2025/26 the rules gave only “North and South divisions” for Kiwi and Year 3 and 4.
- Ball: the 2025/26 “Club Junior Safety” Incrediball is now “Incrediball – softer ball between 88-92gram”, with a second ball listed: “Kookaburra – Super Softaball”. These are still given for Year 3 & 4 only.
- Bails are optional: teams provide “3 stumps, 2 bails (optional in Outfield Cricket)”.
- Free hits: a new highlighted line says catches off the tee don’t count and run-outs are the only dismissal. This only spells out the existing rule.
- New pitch map: Appendix 1 is now a 14 m map for Year 3 & 4 and Mini Mags. The 2025/26 document had only the Kiwi 12 m map.
- Unchanged:
- Format: pairs cricket, 8 a side, 14 m pitch, 30 m boundary, two small hitting tees.
- Innings: 16 overs per side, with 4 overs per pair.
- Bowling: 2 overs per bowler, 6-ball overs with no re-bowls, 5 m run-up.
- Scoring: a maximum of 1 bye or overthrow, +3 runs per dismissal.
- ⚠ Boundary: the 2026/27 Girls summary highlights “25 m or Natural boundaries” for Mini Mags, but the rules say “Year 3 & 4, Mini Mags: 30 metres or natural boundaries” (the 2025 summary said 30 m).
- ⚠ Still only “Year 3 & 4”: the ball, bats, overs, free hits and the one-bye limit still name only Year 3 & 4 in the rules. The changes document does name Mini Mags for byes.
- ⚠ Fielding restriction: the CJCA’s 2026/27 changes say “In all CJCA grades at least 3 players must be closer to the Batter than to the Boundary”, but the rules don’t mention it.
Rules table
Format, players and ground
| Rule | 2025/26 | 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|
| Grade named in the rules | ⚠ Only in the title; the grades paragraph lists “Kiwi (Years 0-2) Year 3 and Year 4” | “three grades, Year 3, Year 4 and Mini Mags (for Girls only teams)” for “Girls in that age range or either side” – effectively Same |
| Format | Pairs cricket (“All grades are pairs-based cricket”) | Same |
| Team size | 8 a side (given for “Year 3&4”) | “Year 3 & 4, Mini Mags: 8 a side” – Same |
| Maximum players on the field | “MAXIMUM OF 6 OR 8 PLAYERS ON THE FIELD” | “MAXIMUM OF 8 PLAYERS (Year 3, 4 or Mini Mags ON THE FIELD” – effectively Same |
| Fewer than 8 players | Ask the opposition for players; bowling limits can be extended to 3 overs each | Same (now names Mini Mags) |
| More than 8 players | Bat and bowl fewer overs, or extend by one partnership if the opposition agrees; scoring stops “at the 12 or 16 overs” | Scoring stops “at 16 overs” (now names Mini Mags) – effectively Same |
| Start time | 5.30 pm Friday or 9 am Saturday (given for “Year 3 & 4”) | “Year 3 & 4 and Mini Mags start at either 5.30pm on a Friday or 9am on a Saturday morning” – Same |
| Location | “North and South divisions” for Kiwi and Year 3 and 4; Mini Mags not named | “Mini Mag at this stage are a citywide grade.” |
| Pitch length | 14 m (given for “Year 3 & 4”) | “Year 3 & 4 & Mini Mags: 14 metres” – Same, plus a new sentence: school artificial pitches have “RED indications of a 14m pitch length marked” |
| Boundary | 30 m or natural boundaries (given for “Year 3 & 4”) | “Year 3 & 4, Mini Mags: 30 metres or natural boundaries” – Same – ⚠ the 2026/27 Girls summary says 25 m |
| Ball | “Club Junior Safety” Incrediball (given for “Year 3 & 4”) | “Incrediball – softer ball between 88-92gram”, or “Kookaburra – Super Softaball” (still given for “Year 3 & 4” only) |
| Bats and plastic gear | Wooden bats; plastic gear for those new to cricket or with different abilities (given for “Year 3 & 4”) | Same (still “Year 3 & 4” only) |
| Hitting tees | Two small tees (“KIWI and Years 3 &4”) | “Years 3 &4 and Mini Mags” – Same |
| Bails | Teams provide “3 stumps, 2 bails and an appropriate ball” | “2 bails (optional in Outfield Cricket)” |
Match structure
| Rule | 2025/26 | 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|
| Innings | One innings each, 16 overs per side (given for “Year 3 & 4”), “around an hour” | Same (still “Year 3 & 4” only) |
| Bowling end | All bowling from the same end | Same |
| Exclusion zone | 10 m zone (not the wicketkeeper), extended to 10 m from the bowler’s-end stumps; fielders need not stand on the markers | Same |
| Pitch map | ⚠ Only a Kiwi map, headed “KIWI”, showing a “12m pitch” | A Year 3 & 4 / Mini Mags map: “14m pitch”, 10 m zone, tees 1.2 m either side of the batter, plus two yellow markers 2 m in from the bowler’s end (no key) |
Batting and dismissals
| Rule | 2025/26 | 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|
| Batting pairs | “Six or Eight batters are placed into pairs numbered 1-4” | “Eight batters are placed into pairs numbered 1-4” – effectively Same |
| Batting time | Each pair bats 4 overs (24 balls); aim for 12 balls each | Same |
| Switching ends and run-outs | Dismissed batter doesn’t face the next ball; batters change ends each over; on a run-out the batting side keeps the runs attempted if the batters crossed | Same |
| Ways of being out | Bowled, caught, stumped, hit wicket, run out; no LBW; also out if bails don’t fall after the ball hits the base of the stumps | Same |
| What happens when a batter is out | Batter stays in; X recorded; batters swap ends; bowling side +3 runs | Same |
| Free hits | Every wide or no-ball gives a free hit off a tee (“In Kiwi, Year 3 & 4 …”); batter stays on strike; run-out only; either tee | Same – a new highlighted line says “CATCHES FROM BALLS HIT OFF THE TEE DO NOT COUNT” |
Fielding
| Rule | 2025/26 | 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|
| Byes and overthrows | “limited to ONE only” (given for “YEARS 3 AND 4”) | Same (still “YEARS 3 AND 4” only; the changes document adds “& Mini Mags”) |
| Byes on a free hit | Not stated | ⚠ Not stated – the 2026/27 announcement says byes should not be run when a free hit has been signalled |
| Fielders closer than the boundary | ⚠ Not stated | ⚠ Not stated – the 2026/27 announcement says at least 3 in all grades (see below) |
| Recording catches | Against the catcher on the scoresheet | Same |
Bowling and scoring
| Rule | 2025/26 | 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|
| Overs per bowler | Every bowler bowls 2 overs; everyone bowls 1 before anyone bowls a 2nd; no consecutive overs | Same |
| Balls per over | No re-bowls: maximum 6 deliveries | Same |
| Run-up | Maximum 5 m | Same |
| Wides and no-balls | Wide outside the off-side cone or halfway to the leg side; four no-ball conditions | Same |
| Throwing | No penalty for a thrown delivery; a batter shouldn’t be given out off an obvious throw | Same |
| Runs for dismissals | +3 for each dismissal | Same |
| Runs for wides and no-balls | None, other than runs from hitting off the cone | Same |
| Scoresheet | Kiwi or Year 3/4 scoresheet (Appendix 2) | Same (the same image; it doesn’t name Mini Mags) |
Cross-check with the 2026/27 announcements
The CJCA’s Grade and Playing Conditions changes document and four posters name Mini Mags or “all grades”: Grace Period Settings, New Batting Retirement Settings, Retired and Additional Batters and Fielding Restrictions. The Girls Grade Summary (as at 1 August 2026) is checked too.
| Announcement says | 2026/27 Mini Mags rules |
|---|---|
| “Bonus runs for wickets in ALL PAIRS CRICKET will remain at 3 bonus runs. (Kiwi, Mini Mags, …)”; the Grace Period poster gives 3 runs in pairs cricket. | Matches (+3 per dismissal). Mini Mags has no grace period: batters stay in when out. |
| Retirement poster: “Pairs Cricket – No Change”, Mini Mags bat in “4-over blocks per pair”, “Legitimate balls shared”. | Matches (4 overs per pair, aiming for 12 balls each). |
| Retired and Additional Batters poster (“All grades”): pairs teams with odd numbers should “rotate batters into the vacant position throughout the season”. | Not stated as such. The rules ask coaches to give all players “an equal opportunity to bat twice … throughout the season”, which fits. |
| “In grades with HITS OFF TEES … the only form of dismissal remains RUN OUTS – CATCHES DO NOT COUNT”. | Matches the new highlighted line. |
| “In YEARS 3 AND 4 & Mini Mags Byes and overthrows should be limited to ONE only”. | Matches, although the rules’ own byes sentence names only “YEARS 3 AND 4”. |
| ⚠ “Byes should not be run when a Free Hit has been signalled so the same Batter remains on-strike to take the Free Hot off the Tee”. | Not in the rules, although they do say “Batters should remain on-strike if they receive a Wide or No-ball and take their Free Hit”. |
| ⚠ “In all CJCA grades at least 3 players must be closer to the Batter than to the Boundary.” | Not in the Mini Mags rules. The Fielding Restrictions poster lists only “All hardball grades”, “Super 8” and “Girls Division 4”, and the Girls summary leaves “Boundary Limits” blank for Mini Mags. |
| ⚠ Girls summary: boundary “25 m or Natural boundaries” (highlighted). | The rules say 30 m (“Year 3 & 4, Mini Mags: 30 metres or natural boundaries”). The 2025 Girls summary also said 30 m. |
| Girls summary: “Junior Club Incrediball 88-92 gram”. | Matches the new ball wording, but leaves out the “Kookaburra – Super Softaball”. |
| Girls summary: 8 a side, “16 Overs – Pairs Cricket”, 14 m, 2 overs per bowler, 5 m run-up, “Mini Mags– Maximum 1 Bye or Overthrow”, “9am Saturday or 5.30pm Fridays”. | Matches. (The summary’s “Day” row says only “Saturday”.) |
| ⚠ Girls summary: exclusion zone “10m from batsman ex slips/gully and keeper”. | The rules exclude only the wicketkeeper; slips and gullies aren’t mentioned (the same wording was in the 2025 summary). |
Possible errors or inconsistencies
Affecting how the game is played
-
Boundary 25 m or 30 m: the 2026/27 Girls summary highlights “25 m or Natural boundaries” for Mini Mags. The 2026/27 rules say “Year 3 & 4, Mini Mags: 30 metres or natural boundaries”, as the 2025 summary did. Worth confirming with the CJCA.
-
Clauses that still name only Year 3 & 4:
- the ball (“Year 3 & 4: Incrediball – softer ball between 88-92gram”)
- bats (“In Year 3 & 4 Wooden bats should be used”)
- overs (“Year 3 & 4: 16 overs per side”)
- free hits (“In Kiwi, Year 3 & 4 should wides or no-balls be bowled”)
- byes (“In YEARS 3 AND 4 Byes and overthrows should be limited to ONE only”).
The changes document and the Girls summary apply these to Mini Mags too. In 2025/26 no rule named Mini Mags at all; the grade was named only in the title, “Kiwi, Year 3-4 & Mini Mags “Outfield Cricket””.
-
Fielding restriction: the 2026/27 changes document says “In all CJCA grades at least 3 players must be closer to the Batter than to the Boundary”, but the Mini Mags rules don’t include it and the poster doesn’t list Mini Mags.
-
2025/26 pitch map was the Kiwi map: the only pitch map in the 2025/26 joint document is headed “KIWI” and shows a “12m pitch”, while the rules gave “14 metres”. The 2026/27 document fixes this with a 14 m map, but that map has two yellow markers “2m” in from the bowler’s end and no key to explain them.
-
Byes on a free hit: the changes document says “Byes should not be run when a Free Hit has been signalled”. The rules don’t say this.
Document and wording issues
- Scoresheet link: on the CJCA website, the Mini Mags scoresheet link opens the 2024 Kiwi / Year 3-4 rules document instead of a scoresheet. The rules’ own scoresheet (Appendix 2) is headed for “Kiwi or Year 3/4” and doesn’t name Mini Mags.
- No Girls Convenor contact: the 2026/27 Year 3-4 & Mini Mags document lists only the General Manager, although Mini Mags is a girls’ grade. In 2025/26 the Girls Convenor’s girls@cjca.org.nz address linked to a OneDrive path (“https://d.docs.live.net/…/Grade%20conditions/2025/girls@cjca.org.nz”) rather than an email link.
- Email links: in both years, the gm@cjca.org.nz email address links to a Word file path on the author’s computer (“/C:/Users/gm/Documents/CJCA%20COMPETITIONS/Grade%20conditions/2024/gm@cjca.org.nz”).
- Wording left over:
- in 2026/27: “Where possible opposition players should be asked to field to ensure there are 6 or 8 players in the fielding team”, and the table of contents entry “Kiwi Year 3 & Year 4 Grade Format”
- “Mini Mag at this stage are a citywide grade” (Mags, is)
- the missing bracket in “MAXIMUM OF 8 PLAYERS (Year 3, 4 or Mini Mags ON THE FIELD AT ANY ONE TIME –”.
- Typos:
- new in 2026/27: “THE ONLY DISMISSALS … IS A RUN OUT” (are)
- carried over: “Haglgey Oval”, “hit of either tee” (off), the out-of-date “Change in 2024/25 Season” label, “so it important”, “4 and 6’s”, “LBW’s”, and the missing closing bracket after “(Bowlers can bowl from a shorter distance if needed”.