Moving up · 2026/27
Moving Up – Year 6 Hardball Post-Christmas (2025/26) to Year 7 & 8 Premier Hardball (2026/27)
Source: Year-6-Hardball-Grade-POST-Christmas-as-at-15th-July-2024.pdf (2025/26) compared with Year-7-8-Premier-Grade-as-at-13th-October-2026.pdf (2026/27); general conditions from the matching *-common-general.md files.
Sources:
- Year 6 Post-Christmas: CJCA Year 6 Hardball Grade – POST Christmas rules, “as at 15th July 2024” (the date is in the file name; the cover has no “as at” date). The CJCA did not republish this document for 2025/26, so it was still the current version that season. See the Year 6 Post-Christmas rules (2025/26).
- Year 7 & 8 Premier: CJCA Year 7 & 8 Premier Hardball rules, “as at 13th October 2026”. This replaces the first 2026/27 version, “as at 26th August 2026”, which had no LBW rule for Year 7 Premier (see Year 7 & 8 Premier, 26 August to 13 October 2026). See the Year 7 & 8 Premier rules (2026/27).
Comparing the two shows what changes for a player moving from Year 6 Hardball (after Christmas) up to a Year 7 & 8 Premier (afternoon) grade. Premier has separate rules for Year 7 and Year 8 only for LBW: a player moving up from Year 6 is in Year 7, so the Year 7 Premier rule applies.
⚠ The Year 6 rules compared here are the 2025/26 post-Christmas rules (the CJCA document dated 15 July 2024). Players moving up in 2026/27 played under these rules last season. The Year 6 post-Christmas rules also changed a lot for 2026/27 (see Year 6 Post-Christmas, 2025/26 to 2026/27). Changes the CJCA made to the Year 7 & 8 Premier grades for 2026/27 are covered in Year 7 & 8 Premier, 2025/26 to 2026/27.
The general CJCA conditions (pages 1–2) are almost the same in both documents: the same aims, Code of Conduct, health and safety rules and “MCC Laws of Cricket apply unless otherwise stated”. The Year 7 & 8 version lists the Year 7 and Year 8 grade convenors, drops the paragraph about Year 6 changing to post-Christmas conditions, no longer lists hitting tees among the gear each team brings, drops the recommendation of dark-coloured bottoms for female players, and says “connection to conventional cricket” (Year 6: “international cricket”). Both say a player eligible for a grade in October stays eligible all season, except Year 8 boys who move to Youth cricket after Christmas.
How to read the table:
- Same means the Year 7 & 8 Premier rule means the same as the Year 6 post-Christmas rule.
- Not stated means the rule isn't mentioned in that document; the MCC Laws apply “unless otherwise stated”. Rows like this are marked ⚠.
- Rows whose rule name is in bold are the ones players, umpires and coaches need to apply differently in Year 7 & 8 Premier.
Rules: Christchurch Junior Cricket Association (CJCA). Reformatted as coaching notes; see the source PDF for the official wording.
What changes – at a glance
- Afternoon cricket, longer game: Saturday 9.00 am → 12.30 pm start (4.30 pm if a round moves to another day because of a public holiday), and 20 overs → 30 overs per side, finishing “by 5pm or 5.30pm at the latest”. 9 a side (was 8).
- Grace period halved: the first 3 balls faced (was 6). A dismissal in the grace period gives the bowling side 5 runs (was 3), and the batter changes ends with the non-striker. From the 4th ball the batter is fully out.
- LBW: no LBW → Year 7 Premier: limited LBW, on appeal only, and only if the ball pitched in line, hit the pad in front of the stumps before the bat, was definitely going on to hit the stumps, and the batter had gone onto the back foot and stayed there. Year 8 Premier: “FULL LBW”. In both, “ANY doubt – not out.”
- Retirement: at the end of the over in which the batter had faced 25 balls, counting wides and no-balls → immediately after 25 balls, not counting wides and no-balls. Coaches may not retire batters earlier unless they have more than 9 players.
- Bowling: max 3 overs, nobody bowls a 3rd until all have bowled 2 → normally max 4 overs, and nobody bowls a 4th until all the others have bowled 3 (the 9th player can be a specialist wicketkeeper). Keepers who share the gloves bowl 2 overs each. New 15 m maximum run-up.
- Fielding: a new limit of 4 fielders on the boundary; the fielders involved in run-outs are now recorded.
- Also new: a no-ball if the ball doesn't land on the pitch; the POD system directive for rotating the batting order; when a team is short, dismissed batters with the fewest balls faced bat again; scoring on PlayHQ. No longer stated: the early-finish rule (bowl the remaining overs) and the Year 6 bails rule.
- Unchanged: individual batting with a grace period, 18 m pitch, 40 m boundary, 142 g leather ball, the 10 m exclusion zone with slips, gully and keeper allowed closer, overs of up to 8 balls with wides and no-balls re-bowled (1 run each) and 6 legitimate balls in the last over, free hits after a no-ball in balls 1–7, umpire-judged wides, last batter standing, unlimited byes and overthrows, and no penalty for a thrown delivery.
- ⚠ Grace period wording: the Premier rules say “within the first 6 balls morning grades (3 balls in Premier grade)” – the same sentence as the Morning rules. The Premier figure is 3, as on the Premier scoresheet.
- ⚠ Overs per bowler: the same bullet says “No bowler may bowl more than 4 overs total in a 27 or 30-over game unless agreed to by both teams” and “Max 5 overs per bowler”.
- ⚠ Check which Premier document you have: the Year 7 Premier LBW rule is only in the 13 October 2026 version, and the CJCA website's Year 7 Premier and Year 8 Premier links pointed at different versions.
Rules table
Format, players and ground
| Rule | Year 6 Post-Christmas (2025/26) | Year 7 & 8 Premier (2026/27) |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Individual batting with a 6-ball grace period, not pairs cricket (“a transitional half season”) | Same (individual batting with a grace period, but a shorter one – see Batting) |
| Grade description | Year 6 after Christmas: a longer pitch (18 m) and a grace period instead of pairs cricket | “for players primarily in Year 7 & 8 but talented Year 6 players can also be included into Year 7”, split into sections by the number of teams |
| Grading | Teams may be split again, especially after Christmas, so “like vs like” matches can be played; non-competitive | Same |
| Team size | 8 a side | 9 a side |
| Maximum players on the field | 8 (“MAXIMUM OF 8 PLAYERS ON THE FIELD”); extra players are rotated on and off the field | 9 (“only 9 may field at any one time”) |
| Fewer players than the team size | Ask the opposition for players; “bowling limits can be extended”; opposition players asked to field “to ensure there are 6 or 8 players in the fielding team” | Ask the opposition for players; bowling limits “can be extended to 4 overs each”; dismissed players may bat a second time to make up 9 batters, chosen by the “least number of balls faced” (retired batters return first; their runs count); borrowing opposition fielders is encouraged |
| More players than the team size | Maximise participation: “batting and bowling for less overs” | Only 9 field at a time. All may bat and bowl, but the innings ends at the 9th wicket against a team of 9. If both teams have extra players, all may bat by agreement and the innings stops at the 9th wicket |
| Batting order | Rotated from game to game; reticent players needn't open but should be encouraged to bat 3 and 4 | “Rotation of the batting order is required as per POD system directive issued August 2026” (for all non-pairs grades) |
| Start time | 9.00 am Saturday, or 4.30 pm for a Friday round | 12.30 pm Saturday, or 4.30 pm “on other days should games be played on these days due to Public Holidays” |
| Pitch length | 18 m (yellow lines on artificial wickets) | Same (the Year 7 & 8 pitch map shows 18 m; the Year 6 map was labelled “16m pitch”) |
| Boundary | 40 m or natural boundaries; may be shortened by agreement | Same |
| Ball | 142 g leather | Kookaburra 142 g leather – effectively Same |
| Protective equipment | Full protective gear and helmet for batters (NZC Helmet Policy); wicketkeepers always wear helmets | Same |
Match structure
| Rule | Year 6 Post-Christmas (2025/26) | Year 7 & 8 Premier (2026/27) |
|---|---|---|
| Innings | One innings each; coin toss for who starts | ⚠ Not stated (“Premier grades remain 30 overs”; the coin toss isn't mentioned) |
| Overs per side | 20 overs | 30 overs (“maximum eight ball overs”) |
| Timings | “Coaches and managers must keep the game moving”; no times given | “play should be able to be completed by 5pm or 5.30pm at the latest”; no drinks or innings times given |
| Bowling ends | Sets of 5 overs from each end | Same (“only change bowling ends after each 5 over block”) |
| Next batter in | Ready to bat as soon as a wicket falls | ⚠ Not stated |
| When an innings ends | When the overs are bowled or all 8 batters are out | When the overs are bowled or the 9th wicket falls (“the team score concludes when the 9th wicket is taken”) |
| Early finish | CJCA strongly encourages bowling the remaining overs; batters who faced the fewest balls bat again; extra runs don't change the result | ⚠ Not stated |
Batting
| Rule | Year 6 Post-Christmas (2025/26) | Year 7 & 8 Premier (2026/27) |
|---|---|---|
| Grace period | First 6 balls faced | First 3 balls faced (“within the first 6 balls morning grades (3 balls in Premier grade)”) |
| Dismissal in the grace period | Batter stays “IN”; 3 bonus runs to the bowling side | Batter stays “IN” and changes ends with the non-striker; 5 bonus runs to the bowling side |
| Dismissal after the grace period | Fully out from the 7th ball: “NO BONUS RUNS FOR THAT DISMISSAL” | Fully out from the 4th ball (implied by the grace-period rule). ⚠ The Scoring section adds 5 runs “for each dismissal obtained” |
| Grace-period batters and retirement | Batters dismissed in their grace period “may not return as a retired batter” | Same |
| Retirement | At the end of the over in which the batter has faced 25 balls “INCLUDING wides and no balls”; retirements only at the end of an over | Immediately after 25 balls “NOT INCLUDING wides and no balls”. Coaches may not retire batters earlier unless they have more than 9 players |
| Retired batters return | In the order they retired, once all others are out or retired | Same |
| Last batter standing | Last batter keeps batting and takes all the strike; the last batter out stays on as non-striker; either may be run out to end the innings | Same |
Dismissals
| Rule | Year 6 Post-Christmas (2025/26) | Year 7 & 8 Premier (2026/27) |
|---|---|---|
| Ways of being out | Bowled, caught, stumped, hit wicket, run out. No LBW | Bowled, caught, stumped, hit wicket, run out and LBW (see the next two rows) |
| LBW – Year 7 Premier | Not applicable | On appeal only, and only if the ball (1) pitched in line with the stumps, (2) hit the batter on the pads in front of the stumps before the bat, (3) was definitely going to hit the stumps, and (4) the batter had gone onto the back foot and stayed there. Not out if it pitched outside the line or the batter played forward, “even if the player is hit on the back pad or foot”. “ANY doubt – not out.” |
| LBW – Year 8 Premier | Not applicable | “FULL LBW to be applied in this grade”. “Only to be awarded when there was no doubt whatsoever in the umpire’s mind. ANY doubt – not out.” |
| Bails rule | Also out if bails are used but don't fall when the ball hits the base of the stumps or “has passed between two wickets” | ⚠ Not stated (the MCC Laws apply) |
Extras, free hits and wides
| Rule | Year 6 Post-Christmas (2025/26) | Year 7 & 8 Premier (2026/27) |
|---|---|---|
| Runs for a wide or no-ball | 1 run plus any runs scored | Same |
| Balls per over | Minimum 6, maximum 8: wides and no-balls are re-bowled; the last over must have 6 legitimate balls | Same (“Overs to be a maximum of 8 balls except the last over which must be 6 legitimate deliveries”) |
| Free hit after a no-ball | The ball after a no-ball (balls 1–7) is a free hit; run-out is the only dismissal; the field can't change except for a left/right-hander change | Same |
| Hitting a would-be wide or no-ball on a free hit | Would-be wide becomes a normal delivery (can be out); a no-ball scores 1 run plus runs from the shot and the next ball is still a free hit | Same |
| Extras on the last (8th) ball | A no-ball on the 8th ball: 2 runs, no free hit (a wide isn't mentioned) | A wide or no-ball on the 8th ball: 2 runs (“manually entered”), no free hit |
| Wide definition | Umpire judgement: so wide the batter has no reasonable opportunity to hit it; “Normal test match wides on the offside and halfway to that on the legside” as the guide; not a wide if it hits the batter; the ball stays live | Same, plus coaches and umpires “should meet before the game to agree on a stand[ard]” |
| No-ball conditions | Bounces twice or rolls; full toss above the waist; above the shoulder after bouncing; fielders (not the bowler) encroach into the exclusion zone | Same, plus the ball “does not land on pitch” |
Fielding
| Rule | Year 6 Post-Christmas (2025/26) | Year 7 & 8 Premier (2026/27) |
|---|---|---|
| Exclusion zone | No fielders within 10 m of the batter from point, forward of the wicket, round to down leg side; slips, gully and keeper may be closer; no leg slip, silly point or close mid-off/mid-on | 10 m fielding exclusion zone that “excludes the wicket keeper”; “Slips and Gullies on the offside may be closer than 10 metres” – effectively Same |
| Fielders on the boundary | ⚠ Not stated | Max 4 on the boundary, “which means that the 3 remaining Fielders must be closer to the Batter than the Boundary” |
| Byes and overthrows | Unlimited; coaches should encourage good throws and relay throwing | Unlimited – effectively Same |
| Recording catches | Against the catcher on the scoresheet | Against the catcher on the scoresheet or on PlayHQ – effectively Same |
| Recording run-outs | ⚠ Not stated | “those involved should be noted on the Scoresheet or in PlayHQ” |
Bowling
| Rule | Year 6 Post-Christmas (2025/26) | Year 7 & 8 Premier (2026/27) |
|---|---|---|
| Overs per bowler | Max 3 | Normally max 4: “No bowler may bowl more than 4 overs total in a 27 or 30-over game unless agreed to by both teams” – but also “Max 5 overs per bowler” (⚠ see the notes) |
| Bowling order | Nobody bowls a 3rd over until all others have bowled 2; no successive overs | Nobody bowls a 4th over until all others have bowled 3 (“A minimum of 8 players must have bowled 3 overs each … provided the ninth player is the designated specialist wicketkeeper”); no successive overs |
| Season share | All players bowl the same number of overs across the season | Same |
| Wicketkeepers | ⚠ Not stated | If keeping is shared, each keeper “should bowl 2 overs when not wicket keeping” |
| Run-up | ⚠ Not stated | Maximum 15 m, marked by a cone if necessary |
| Throwing | Coach a straight-arm action; no penalty for a thrown delivery, but a batter shouldn't be given out off an obvious throw (no-ball in the extreme) | Same |
Scoring and results
| Rule | Year 6 Post-Christmas (2025/26) | Year 7 & 8 Premier (2026/27) |
|---|---|---|
| Scorers | A parent/supporter from each team; be careful announcing winners (non-competitive) | Same |
| PlayHQ | Enter the net score on PlayHQ (runs plus runs gained from wickets) | Results entered on PlayHQ by the team or its club/school convenor; scoring itself “should be done on PlayHQ” where possible, adding “Additional Event/s” to get 6 legitimate balls in the last over (the net-score instruction isn't repeated) |
| Score starts at | Zero | Same |
| Runs for dismissals | 3 for each dismissal “DURING THE GRACE PERIOD” | 5 “for each dismissal obtained” (⚠ the grace-period rule gives bonus runs only within the grace period) |
| Runs for wides and no-balls | 1 run each plus runs scored – ⚠ but the Scoring section also says “No extra runs scored for wides or no balls other than the runs obtained from hitting off the cone” | 1 run each plus runs scored (the contradictory sentence is gone) |
| Scoresheet | Year 6 after-Christmas sheet: 20 overs, 6-ball grace period, “3 runs per wicket taken in Grace Period”, 4 overs per bowler | Year 7 & 8 Premier sheet (June 2026): 30 overs, 3-ball grace period, 5 bonus runs per grace-period wicket, 9 wickets, 5 overs per bowler |
Possible errors or inconsistencies
Most of these are already listed in Year 6 Post-Christmas, 2025/26 to 2026/27 and Year 7 & 8 Premier, 2025/26 to 2026/27; they are repeated briefly here because they affect players moving up. They may be worth raising with the CJCA (gm@cjca.org.nz).
Affecting how the game is played
- Year 7 Premier LBW and the CJCA website: the first 2026/27 Premier document (26 August 2026) had no LBW conditions for Year 7 Premier; the 13 October version adds them. The CJCA website's Year 7 Premier and Year 8 Premier links pointed at different versions, so coaches may have different copies.
- Grace period (Year 7 & 8 Premier): “Batters who are dismissed within the first 6 balls morning grades (3 balls in Premier grade) they face in their innings” – the Morning figure is left in the Premier-only document.
- Overs per bowler (Year 7 & 8 Premier): “No bowler may bowl more than 4 overs total in a 27 or 30-over game unless agreed to by both teams. Max 5 overs per bowler.” With fewer than 9 players, “bowling limits can be extended to 4 overs each” – no extension if 4 is already the limit.
- Bonus runs (Year 7 & 8 Premier): “5 runs are added to the bowling side for each dismissal obtained”, but the grace-period rule gives bonus runs only for dismissals within the grace period (the Year 6 wording was “DURING THE GRACE PERIOD”).
- Public-holiday start (Year 7 & 8 Premier): a 4.30 pm start “should games be played on these days due to Public Holidays” sits beside “30 overs per side (8 ball maximum) – play should be able to be completed by 5pm or 5.30pm at the latest”, and no shorter format is given for these games (the Morning rules give a 20/20 format for Friday or evening rounds).
- Runs for extras (Year 6, 2025/26): “No extra runs scored for wides or no balls other than the runs obtained from hitting off the cone” contradicts “The batting side is awarded 1 run for each wide or no ball” in a grade with no hitting cones.
- Rules that stop at Year 6: the Year 7 & 8 rules don't carry over the early-finish rule (“the remaining overs be bowled”) or the Year 6 bails rule (“…or has passed between two wickets”). Under the MCC Laws, which apply “unless otherwise stated”, a batter isn't bowled unless a bail is dislodged.
- Grace period and extras: neither document says whether wides and no-balls count towards the grace-period balls, although the Year 7 & 8 retirement limit excludes them (“NOT INCLUDING wides and no balls”).
Document and wording issues
- Year 7 & 8 general conditions: the Exclusion Zones paragraph says the same thing twice (“…a safe distance from the facing batter (and outside the fielding exclusion zone) and wearing the appropriate safety equipment. Coaches are to ensure fielders are a safe distance from the facing batsmen (and outside the fielding exclusion zone).”) – also true of the Year 6 general conditions. “Coaches seeking rule changes should provide their suggestions to the CJCA .” is cut short, with a stray space (Year 6 continues “rather than litigate rule differences each week with their new opposition.”). The Premier copy also has “All teams should also havecones to mark boundaries”. Both email links point to “about:blank”.
- Fielders on the boundary: 9 players less 4 on the boundary leaves 5, so “the 3 remaining Fielders” only adds up if the bowler and wicketkeeper aren't counted, which the Year 7 & 8 rules don't say. (The 2026/27 Year 6 rules do: “The Bowler and Wicker Keeper do not count as Fielders”.)
- Premier eligibility: the callout box splits a sentence – “… why a dispensation is required for the player to” [box: “Players may play UP a grade …”] “play DOWN a grade.”
- Repeated text (Premier): “ANY doubt – not out.” is printed twice in the Year 7 Premier LBW section.
- Year 6 pitch map is labelled “16m pitch”, although the post-Christmas pitch is 18 m. The Year 7 & 8 map shows 18 m.
- Year 6 scoresheet has columns for 4 overs per bowler, but the limit was 3.