What’s changed · 2026/27
What’s Changed – Year 3 & 4, 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. See the Year 3 & 4 rules (2025/26).
- 2026/27: CJCA Year 3-4 & Mini Mags “Outfield Cricket” grade conditions, “as at 26th August 2026”. Kiwi now has its own document. See the Year 3 & 4 rules (2026/27).
This compares the two documents clause by clause for Year 3 & 4 (Year 3 and Year 4 play the same rules), and cross-checks the CJCA’s 2026/27 announcements and the 2026/27 Mixed Grade Summary. Much of the rewording removes Kiwi and adds Mini Mags. Those changes are listed as “effectively Same”.
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 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
- Ball: the 2025/26 “Club Junior Safety” Incrediball (with a Cricket Express link) is now “Incrediball – softer ball between 88-92gram”, and a second ball is listed: “Kookaburra – Super Softaball”.
- 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 (“Free hits in these grades can only result in RUN OUTS”).
- Artificial pitches: a new sentence says some games may be on school artificial pitches, which have “RED indications of a 14m pitch length marked”.
- New pitch map: Appendix 1 is now a Year 3 & 4 / Mini Mags map with a 14 m pitch. The 2025/26 document had only the Kiwi 12 m map.
- Unchanged:
- Format: pairs cricket, 8 a side, 14 m pitch, 30 m boundary, wooden bats (plastic gear for beginners), 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.
- Start times: 5.30 pm Friday or 9 am Saturday.
- ⚠ 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 Year 3 & 4 rules don’t mention it.
- ⚠ Byes on a free hit: the changes document says “Byes should not be run when a Free Hit has been signalled”, but the rules don’t say this.
Rules table
Format, players and ground
| Rule | 2025/26 | 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|
| Document | Joint Kiwi, Year 3-4 & Mini Mags document | Year 3-4 & Mini Mags document (Kiwi removed) – effectively Same |
| Grades covered | “three grades, Kiwi (Years 0-2) Year 3 and Year 4” for “School Years 1-4” | “three grades, Year 3, Year 4 and Mini Mags (for Girls only teams)” for “School Years 3-4 and Girls in that age range or either side” – effectively Same for Year 3 & 4 |
| Format | Pairs cricket (“All grades are pairs-based cricket”) | Same |
| Team size | 8 a side (“Year 3&4: 8 a side”) | “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” | “can be extended to up to 3 overs each” – effectively Same |
| 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” – effectively Same |
| Start time | 5.30 pm Friday or 9 am Saturday | Same |
| Grounds | Club grounds plus hubs “such as Bradford, Beckenham, Lancaster Park” | “Bradford, Beckenham, Walter” – effectively Same |
| Divisions | North and South divisions | Same |
| Pitch length | 14 m prepared outfield pitch | Same, plus a new sentence: school artificial pitches have “RED indications of a 14m pitch length marked” |
| Boundary | 30 m or natural boundaries | Same |
| Ball | “Club Junior Safety” Incrediball (Cricket Express link) | “Incrediball – softer ball between 88-92gram”, or “Kookaburra – Super Softaball” (no links) |
| Bats and plastic gear | Wooden bats with the soft Incrediball; plastic gear for those new to cricket or with different abilities, not for competent batters | Same |
| Hitting tees | Two small hitting tees | 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, “around an hour”; coin toss for who starts | Same |
| 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, changing ends mid-over after dot balls if needed | 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; batter stays on strike; run-out only; either tee; hit forward of the wicket | 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”; coaches encourage good throws and relay throwing | Same |
| 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; limits can change with “less than 6 or 8 players” | Same (“less than 8 players”) |
| 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 |
| Results on PlayHQ | Enter the net score (runs plus 3 per wicket) | Same |
| Scoresheet | Kiwi or Year 3/4 scoresheet (Appendix 2) | Same (the same image) |
Cross-check with the 2026/27 announcements
The CJCA’s Grade and Playing Conditions changes document and four posters name Year 3 & 4 or “all grades”: Grace Period Settings, New Batting Retirement Settings, Retired and Additional Batters and Fielding Restrictions. The Mixed Grade Summary (as at 1 August 2026) is checked too.
| Announcement says | 2026/27 Year 3 & 4 rules |
|---|---|
| “Bonus runs for wickets in ALL PAIRS CRICKET will remain at 3 bonus runs. (…, Year 3 & 4, …)”; the Grace Period poster gives 3 runs in pairs cricket. | Matches (+3 per dismissal). Year 3 & 4 has no grace period: batters stay in when out. |
| Retirement poster: “Pairs Cricket – No Change”, Year 3 & 4 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”, including keepers stopping balls that are not hit. | Matches the one-bye limit. |
| ⚠ “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 Year 3 & 4 rules. The Fielding Restrictions poster lists only “All hardball grades”, “Super 8” and “Girls Division 4”, and the Mixed summary leaves its highlighted “Boundary Limits” row blank for Year 3 and Year 4. |
| Fielding Restrictions poster: no fielder closer than 10 m to the batter. | Matches the 10 m exclusion zone. |
| Mixed summary: “Junior sized Incrediball 88-92 gram”. | Matches the new ball wording, but leaves out the “Kookaburra – Super Softaball”. |
| Mixed summary: 8 a side, 16 overs, 14 m, 30 m, 2 overs per bowler, 5 m run-up, “Maximum 1 Bye or Overthrow”, “5.30pm Fridays or 9.00am Saturday”. | Matches. (The summary’s “Bats Plastic or Wooden” is looser than the rules’ wooden bats, with plastic gear only for beginners.) |
Possible errors or inconsistencies
Affecting how the game is played
- 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 Year 3 & 4 rules don’t include it and the poster doesn’t list Year 3 & 4. Worth asking the CJCA whether it applies.
- 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 Year 3 & 4 “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
- Kiwi and “6 or 8” wording left in the 2026/27 Year 3-4 document:
- “In Kiwi, Year 3 & 4 should wides or no-balls be bowled players should receive a FREE HIT”
- “Where possible opposition players should be asked to field to ensure there are 6 or 8 players in the fielding team”
- the table of contents entry “Kiwi Year 3 & Year 4 Grade Format” (the heading itself is now “Year 3 & Year 4 Grade Format”)
- on page 2, “All other grades will play the same Playing Conditions for the complete season”, although the Year 6 sentence it followed has been removed.
- Missing bracket: “MAXIMUM OF 8 PLAYERS (Year 3, 4 or Mini Mags ON THE FIELD AT ANY ONE TIME –”.
- 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”) rather than an email link. In 2025/26, the Girls Convenor’s girls@cjca.org.nz address also linked to a OneDrive path (“https://d.docs.live.net/…/Grade%20conditions/2025/girls@cjca.org.nz”). The 2026/27 Year 3-4 & Mini Mags document no longer lists the Girls Convenor, although it covers a girls’ grade.
- Ball links removed: the 2026/27 ball names (“Incrediball – softer ball between 88-92gram”, “Kookaburra – Super Softaball”) have no links or product names, so coaches can’t tell which Incrediball is meant. The 2025/26 document linked the “Club Junior Safety” ball.
- Out-of-date label: the box “Change in 2024/25 Season. All players may hit of either tee, bringing the entire field into play” is still there.
- Typos:
- new in 2026/27: “THE ONLY DISMISSALS … IS A RUN OUT” (are)
- carried over: “Hagley Oval” spelt “Haglgey”, “hit of either tee” (off), “so it important”, “4 and 6’s”, “LBW’s”, and the missing closing bracket after “(Bowlers can bowl from a shorter distance if needed”.