What’s changed · 2026/27
What’s Changed – Year 5 Hardball, 2025/26 to 2026/27
Sources:
- 2025/26: CJCA Year 5 Hardball, Year 5/6 Super 8’s and Girls Division 4 rules, “as at 26th September 2025”. See the Year 5 Hardball rules (2025/26).
- 2026/27: the same CJCA document, “as at 26th August 2026”. See the Year 5 Hardball rules (2026/27).
This compares the two documents clause by clause for Year 5 Hardball, and cross-checks the CJCA’s 2026/27 announcements.
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.
Rules: Christchurch Junior Cricket Association (CJCA). Reformatted as coaching notes; see the source PDF for the official wording.
What’s changed – at a glance
- Fielding restriction (new): a maximum of 3 fielders on the boundary, so at least 3 fielders must be closer to the batter than the boundary. The bowler and wicketkeeper don’t count.
- More than 8 players: coaches may now retire batters after fewer balls (even before a 5-over block finishes) as well as giving each player fewer overs.
- Fewer than 8 players: opposition players are asked to field so there are 8 in the fielding team (previously “6 or 8”).
- Recording: stumpings and the fielders involved in run-outs should now be recorded on the scoresheet or in PlayHQ, as well as catches.
- Unchanged: pairs cricket, 16 m pitch, 35 m boundary, hitting-tee free hits, 6-ball overs with no re-bowls, 2 overs per bowler, +3 runs per dismissal.
- ⚠ Run-up: the rules still say a 10 m maximum run-up, but the CJCA’s 2026/27 changes announcement says run-ups in Year 5/6 cricket should be no longer than 12 m.
Rules table
Format, players and ground
| Rule | 2025/26 | 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Pairs cricket (“All grades are pairs-based cricket”) | Same |
| Team size | 8 a side | Same |
| Maximum players on the field | 8; extra players are rotated on and off the field | Same |
| Fewer than 8 players | Ask the opposition to lend players “to ensure there are 6 or 8 players in the fielding team”; bowling limits can be extended to 3 overs each | Ask the opposition to lend players “to ensure there are 8 players in the fielding team”; bowling limits can be extended to 3 overs each |
| More than 8 players | Maximise participation: “batting and bowling for less overs” | Maximise participation: “batting less balls before retiring batters”, which “may mean that players are retired before a 5 over block of overs is completed”, and bowling fewer overs |
| Start time | 9.00 am Saturday, or 4.30 pm for a Friday round | Same |
| Pitch length | 16 m (blue lines); pitches painted with numbers | Same |
| Boundary | 35 m or natural boundaries | Same |
| Ball | 142 g leather | Kookaburra 142 g leather – effectively Same |
| Bats | Wooden bats only from Year 5 upwards | Same |
| Hitting tees | Two small hitting tees | Same |
| Protective equipment | Full protective gear and helmet for batters (NZC Helmet Policy); wicketkeepers always wear helmets | Same |
Match structure
| Rule | 2025/26 | 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|
| Innings | One innings each, 20 overs per side; coin toss for who starts | Same |
| Expected duration | About 3 hours maximum | Same |
| Bowling end | “All bowling is to be from the same end”, in 5-over blocks | Same |
| Exclusion zone | 10 m zone that does not apply to the wicketkeeper; cones may mark it; fielders don’t enter until after the shot or the hit off the tee | Same |
| Pitch map | Appendix 1 pitch map (May 2024): 10 m exclusion zone, two hitting tees 1 m in front of the popping crease, slips and gullies permitted backward of the wicket | Same (the same map) |
Batting and dismissals
| Rule | 2025/26 | 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|
| Batting order and time | Pairs numbered 1–4; each pair bats 5 overs (30 balls); aim for 15 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; may hit off either tee | Same (still labelled “Change in 2024/25 Season”) |
Fielding
| Rule | 2025/26 | 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|
| Fielders on the boundary | Not stated | Maximum 3 on the boundary, so at least 3 fielders closer to the batter than the boundary (bowler and wicketkeeper don’t count) – highlighted as new |
| Byes and overthrows | Not limited (“ARE NOT LIMITED”), with encouragement to use relay throws | Unlimited “in Year 5 & older and Girls Division 4 Cricket” (relay-throw sentence removed) – effectively Same |
| Recording catches | Against the catcher on the scoresheet | Same |
| Recording stumpings and run-outs | Not stated | Stumpings and the fielders involved in run-outs recorded on the scoresheet or in PlayHQ |
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 10 m | Same – ⚠ the 2026/27 announcement says 12 m (see below) |
| 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 (that sentence is now in bold) |
| Runs for dismissals | +3 for each dismissal | Same |
| Runs for wides and no-balls | None, other than runs from hitting off the cone | Same |
Cross-check with the 2026/27 announcements
The CJCA published two announcements for 2026/27 that touch Year 5 Hardball: the Grade and Playing Conditions changes document and the Fielding Restrictions poster.
| Announcement says | 2026/27 Year 5 rules |
|---|---|
| “In all CJCA grades at least 3 players must be closer to the Batter than to the Boundary.” | Matches the new fielding restriction. |
| Fielding Restrictions poster: no fielders closer than 10 m to the batter; slips and gullies (off side) may be closer than 10 m; keepers in hardball, Super 8 and Division 4 Girls must wear helmets at all times. | Matches the exclusion zone, pitch map and helmet rule. |
| Bonus runs for wickets in all pairs cricket (including Year 5) remain at 3. | Matches (+3 per dismissal). |
| Full byes and overthrows in all grades other than Kiwi, Years 3 and 4 and Mini Mags. | Matches. |
| In grades with hits off tees after wides and no-balls, run-outs remain the only dismissal; catches do not count. | Matches. |
| ⚠ Run-ups should be no longer than 12 m in Year 5/6 cricket, marked by a cone if necessary. | Not updated: the 2026/27 rules still say “a maximum of a 10-metre run up”. |
| Should wicketkeeping be shared, each keeper should bowl 2 overs when not keeping (in the bowling changes for 27/30-over grades). | Not stated for Year 5. Every Year 5 bowler already bowls 2 overs, so this makes no practical difference. |
Possible errors or inconsistencies
- Run-up length: the 2026/27 rules say a 10 m maximum, but the 2026/27 changes announcement says 12 m for Year 5/6. Worth asking the CJCA which applies.
- The Free Hits section still carries the box “Change in 2024/25 Season. All players may hit of either tee”. It is no longer a change, and “of” should be “off”.
- The 2026/27 table of contents contains a Word error: “Byes / Overthrows ……… Error! Bookmark not defined. Bowling”.
- The Girls Convenor email address on page 1 links to a file path on someone’s OneDrive (
d.docs.live.net/…/girls@cjca.org.nz) rather than an email link. The same broken link was already in the 2025/26 document; only the convenor’s name and number changed. - The overs problem from 2025/26 remains: innings are 20 overs, but “All bowlers should bowl 2 overs” covers only 16 overs with 8 players, and no maximum per bowler is given.
- New typo: “The Bowler and Wicker Keeper” (Wicket), in the new fielding sentence. Typos carried over: “should be warn by batter” (worn); “so it important”; the missing closing bracket after “(Bowlers can bowl from a shorter distance if needed”.