What’s changed · 2026/27
What’s Changed – Year 6 Hardball Post-Christmas, 2025/26 to 2026/27
Sources:
- 2025/26: CJCA Year 6 Hardball Grade – POST Christmas rules, “as at 15th July 2024”. The CJCA did not republish this document for 2025/26, so the July 2024 version was still the current one that season. See the Year 6 post-Christmas rules (2025/26).
- 2026/27: the same CJCA document, “as at 26th August 2026” (the cover says “As at 6th August 2026”). See the Year 6 post-Christmas rules (2026/27).
This compares the two documents clause by clause for Year 6 Hardball after Christmas, and cross-checks the CJCA’s 2026/27 announcements and grade summary. The general conditions on pages 1–2 are word for word the same in both years, apart from the cover date.
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
- Grace-period bonus: a wicket in a batter’s first 6 balls now gives the bowling side 5 runs (was 3). From the 7th ball the batter is fully out, with no bonus runs, as before.
- Retirement: batters now retire immediately after 20 balls, excluding wides and no-balls (was at the end of the over in which they had faced 25 balls, including wides and no-balls). Coaches may not retire batters earlier unless they have more than 9 players.
- Grace-period dismissal: the batter now changes ends with the non-striker.
- Short and large teams (new section): a team short of players can send dismissed batters in again, fewest balls faced first (retired batters return before them), and may borrow opposition fielders. With more than 8 players only 8 field, and the innings ends at the 8th wicket against a team of 8.
- Also new: the fielding restriction (at least 3 fielders closer to the batter than the boundary); the POD system is recommended for the batting order; keepers who share the gloves bowl 2 overs when not keeping; a no-ball if the ball lands outside the width of the pitch.
- Unchanged: 8 a side, 18 m pitch, 40 m boundary, 20 overs, 6-ball grace period, 6–8 ball overs, a maximum of 3 overs per bowler, umpire-judged wides, the 10 m zone from point round to leg side, last batter standing, early finish, free hits after no-balls.
- ⚠ Retirement limit: the CJCA changes document gives Year 6 post-Christmas both 15 and 20 legitimate balls; the rules and the retirement poster say 20.
- ⚠ Pitch map and run-up: the pitch map in both years is labelled “16m pitch” although the pitch is 18 m; the announcements say Year 5/6 run-ups are at most 12 m, but the rules set no limit.
Rules table
Format, players and ground
| Rule | 2025/26 | 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Individual batting with a 6-ball grace period, not pairs cricket (“a transitional half season”) | Same |
| Team size | 8 a side | Same (now stated in two Team Size sections) |
| 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” | Same, plus: dismissed players “may bat a second time to make up the 8 batters”, chosen by the “least number of balls faced”; retired batters return “before the additional batters”; their runs count; borrowing opposition fielders by mutual agreement is encouraged; bowling limits “can be extended to 3 overs each” |
| More than 8 players | Maximise participation: “batting and bowling for less overs” | Same, plus: only 8 may field; all may bat and bowl, but “the team score concludes when the 8th wicket is taken, if playing a team with 8”; if both teams have extra players, all may bat by agreement and the innings stops at the 8th wicket |
| POD system | Not stated | CJCA directive (August 2026): non-pairs grades “should operate a “POD system””, with a link to the POD poster |
| Start time | 9.00 am Saturday, or 4.30 pm for a Friday round | Same |
| Pitch length | 18 m (yellow lines) | Same – ⚠ the pitch map is labelled “16m pitch” in both years |
| Boundary | 40 m or natural boundaries | Same |
| Ball | 142 g leather | Same |
| Bats | Not stated | 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 of 20 overs each; coin toss for who starts | Same |
| Bowling ends | Sets of 5 overs from each end; next batter ready as soon as a wicket falls | Same |
| Exclusion zone | No fielders within 10 m “from point, forward of the wicket in a circle to down leg side”; slips, gully and keeper may be inside 10 m | Same |
| When an innings ends | When the overs are bowled or all 8 batters are out | Same |
| Last batter standing | Last batter keeps batting and takes all the strike; the last batter out stays on as non-striker | Same |
| Early finish | Bowling the remaining overs strongly encouraged; fewest balls faced bat again; extra runs don’t change the result | Same |
Batting and dismissals
| Rule | 2025/26 | 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|
| Batting order | Rotated from game to game; reticent players needn’t open but “should be encouraged to bat 3 and 4”, and “the same batters should not regularly open the innings” | Rotated from game to game; “It is recommended that a POD system be used” (the sentence about reticent players is removed) |
| Grace period | First 6 balls a batter faces: a dismissed batter stays “IN” | Same – ⚠ the announcements say wides and no-balls don’t count towards the grace period; the rules don’t say so |
| Grace-period bonus | Bowling side gets 3 bonus runs | Bowling side gets 5 bonus runs – highlighted |
| Ends after a grace-period dismissal | Not stated | “THE BATTER SHOULD CHANGE ENDS WITH THE NONSTRIKER” |
| Out from the 7th ball | Fully out; “NO BONUS RUNS FOR THAT DISMISSAL” | Same |
| Retirement | “until the end of the over in which they have faced 25 balls (INCLUDING wides and no balls)”; “retirements … may only take place at the end of an over” | “until they have faced 20 balls (EXCLUDING wides and no balls) when they must retire IMMEDIATELY” – highlighted. ⚠ The changes document also says 15 balls |
| Retiring batters early | Not stated | “Coaches are NOT allowed to retire batters earlier than these delivery limits unless they are playing with more than 9 players and spreading the innings equally” – highlighted |
| Retired batters returning | In the order they retired, once all others are out or retired; batters dismissed in their grace period may not return | Same (now also stated in the Grace Period section) |
| 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 “or has passed between two wickets” | Same |
Extras, free hits and wides
| Rule | 2025/26 | 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|
| Runs for a wide or no-ball | “1 run for each wide or no ball, plus any additional 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 for each wide or no-ball, plus any runs scored (the contradicting sentence is removed) |
| Balls per over | Minimum 6, maximum 8; 6 legitimate balls in the last over | Same |
| Free hit | Ball after a no-ball (balls 1–7) is a free hit; run-out the only dismissal; no free hit after a no-ball on the 8th ball (2 runs) | Same |
| Wide definition | Umpire judgement: no reasonable opportunity to hit it; test-match wides on the off side and halfway on the leg side; not a wide if it hits the batter; ball stays live | Same |
| No-ball conditions | Bounces twice or rolls; above the waist on the full; above the shoulder after bouncing; fielders (not the bowler) encroach into the exclusion zone | Same, plus “The ball lands outside the width of the Pitch.” |
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) – labelled “new 2026” |
| Byes and overthrows | No limits; coaches encourage good throws and relay throwing | Same (now under a Fielding heading) |
| Recording catches | Against the catcher on the scoresheet | Same |
Bowling and scoring
| Rule | 2025/26 | 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|
| Overs per bowler | Max 3; nobody bowls a 3rd over until everyone has bowled 2; no consecutive overs; equal overs across the season | Same |
| Wicketkeepers who share the gloves | Not stated | “Should wicketkeepers share keeping duties they should bowl 2 overs when not keeping” – highlighted |
| Run-up | Not stated | Same – ⚠ the 2026/27 announcement says 12 m for Year 5/6 |
| 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 |
| Scorers and results | A parent or supporter from each team; enter the net score on PlayHQ | Same |
| Runs for grace-period dismissals | +3 for each dismissal “DURING THE GRACE PERIOD” | +5 for each dismissal “DURING THE GRACE PERIOD” – highlighted |
| Scoresheet | Appendix 2 sheet: “3 runs per wicket taken in Grace Period” | The 2026/27 sheet (in the PDF and the standalone June 2026 sheet) says “5 runs per wicket taken in Grace Period” |
Cross-check with the 2026/27 announcements
The CJCA published several announcements for 2026/27 that touch Year 6 after Christmas: the Grade and Playing Conditions changes document, the POD system directive and poster, and posters on fielding restrictions, grace-period settings, retirement levels, retired and additional batters and wides and no-balls not counting as balls faced. The Mixed grade summary is also checked.
| Announcement says | 2026/27 Year 6 post-Christmas rules |
|---|---|
| ⚠ Changes document: “GIRLS DIVISION 3 & YEAR 6 POST CHRISTMAS - Batter will now retire after 15 LEGITMATE BALLS” and, two lines later, “YEAR 6 POST CHRISTMAS - Batter will now retire after 20 LEGITMATE BALLS”. | The rules say 20 balls, excluding wides and no-balls. The retirement poster and Mixed grade summary also say 20. |
| Batters reaching the retirement level “SHOULD BE RETIRED IMMEDIATELY – NOT THE END OF THE OVER”. | Matches. |
| ⚠ Wides and no-balls “will not be counted towards either a RETIREMENT LIMIT OR a Batters GRACE PERIOD”; the grace-period poster says “Only legitimate balls count towards grace period”. | Matches for retirement. The grace-period text says only “within the first 6 balls … they face”, without saying wides and no-balls don’t count. |
| Grace-period bonus of 5 runs in all non-pairs grades; 6-ball grace period in all grades except Premier. | Matches. |
| Coaches are not allowed to retire batters early “FOR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE unless they are playing with more than 9 players and spreading the innings equally”. | Matches, but the rules leave out “for competitive advantage” and so read as a flat ban. ⚠ “more than 9 players” in an 8-a-side grade (see the notes). |
| Retired (not out) batters return “in order in which they retired”; extra batters in short teams return in order of “LEAST BALLS FACED”. | Matches. |
| PODs “strongly recommended” in all non-pairs cricket; the directive and poster list “Year 6 After Christmas”. In a 20/20 game, POD 1 may not bowl until after 10 overs. | The rules recommend a POD system and link to the POD poster. The POD bowling restriction isn’t in the rules themselves. |
| “Should wicket keeping be shared each of the players should bowl 2 overs when not wicket keeping.” | Matches the new bowling bullet. |
| ⚠ “Run Ups should be … no longer than 12m in Year 5/6 cricket”. | Not stated: the rules have no run-up limit. |
| “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; slips and gullies (off side) may be closer; hardball keepers wear helmets at all times. | Matches. |
| Wides and no-balls poster: wide guide “Full wides on the offside and halfway to that on the legside”; no-ball examples include “Landing off the pitch” and overstepping. | Matches the wide guide and the new no-ball. Overstepping isn’t listed in the rules. |
| Mixed grade summary: “Now a 20/20 format with 18m pitches – Grace Period and not “Pairs Cricket””; retire “after 20 balls”; grace-period batters “MAY NOT RETURN – OTHERS MAY RETURN IN ORDER”; free hits after no-balls, run-out only. | Matches. ⚠ The summary has no after-Christmas column for batting, bowling and fielding, and its note “Y6 , Y7, Y7 Premier and Y8 – All must bowl 3 overs before anyone bowls a 4th” doesn’t fit the Year 6 limit of 3 overs. |
Possible errors or inconsistencies
These are quoted word for word from the CJCA documents. They may be worth raising with the CJCA (gm@cjca.org.nz).
Affecting how the game is played
- Retirement limit: the 2026/27 changes document gives Year 6 post-Christmas two limits: “15 LEGITMATE BALLS” (with Girls Division 3) and “20 LEGITMATE BALLS”. The rules say 20.
- Pitch map says “16m pitch” in both years, but the post-Christmas pitch is “18 metres (Yellow lines on artificial wickets)”. The Mixed grade summary has no 18 m map either.
- Run-up length: the changes announcement says “no longer than 12m in Year 5/6 cricket”; the Year 6 rules give no limit, and the Year 5 rules say 10 m.
- “more than 9 players”: “Coaches are NOT allowed to retire batters earlier than these delivery limits unless they are playing with more than 9 players”, in an 8-a-side grade where every other team-size rule uses 8.
- Grace period and wides/no-balls: the announcements say wides and no-balls don’t count towards the grace period, but the rules don’t say so.
- Garbled grace-period sentence (new in 2026/27): “Batters who are dismissed within the first 6 balls morning grades they face in their innings” (2025/26 read “within the first 6 balls they face in their innings”). Also “Players dismissed with the “Grace Period”” (within).
- “bowling limits can be extended to 3 overs each” (new Team Size section) when the limit is already “Max 3 overs per bowler”; the page 4 Team Size section says only “can be extended”.
- 2025/26 only – runs for extras: “No extra runs scored for wides or no balls other than the runs obtained from hitting off the cone” contradicted “The batting side is awarded 1 run for each wide or no ball, plus any additional runs scored”, in a grade with no hitting cones. Removed in 2026/27.
- Grace period and run-outs (both years): it isn’t stated whether a run-out in the first 6 balls is covered, and the pre-Christmas rule on keeping the runs attempted on a run-out isn’t carried over.
- Wide on the 8th ball (both years): only “a no ball … bowled on the 8th ball” is covered.
- Bails (both years): “…or has passed between two wickets” probably means between the stumps.
- Retirement stated twice (2026/27): the Grace Period section repeats the 20-ball retirement rule (“NOT INCLUDING wides and no balls”) and the Retirement section gives it again (“EXCLUDING wides and no balls”).
Document and wording issues
- The CJCA’s “20/20 rules” link on its website (2026) still opens the 2025/26 document, Year-6-Hardball-Grade-POST-Christmas-as-at-15th-July-2024.pdf, not the 26 August 2026 version.
- Not republished for 2025/26: the post-Christmas document used in 2025/26 is dated 15 July 2024, while the pre-Christmas document was updated to 26 September 2025.
- The 2026/27 cover says “As at 6th August 2026”; the file name says 26th August 2026.
- The 2026/27 document has two Team Size sections (pages 4 and 5) with different text, one with the heading “Team Size: Year 6: 8 a side”.
- POD link: “MORE DETAIL – CLICK HERE” opens the POD poster, not the POD directive.
- “Fielding restrictions (new 2026)” is labelled new here but not in the pre-Christmas document, which has the same rule.
- Carried over from the pre-Christmas document (both years): “Draws will be confirmed until Christmas following grading”; Location says “Year 5-8 cricket”; the heading “Pitch Length:.” has a stray full stop.
- The 2025/26 table of contents lists “Byes / Overthrows” under Batting, with no Fielding heading, and puts Dismissals before Free Hits (the body has Free Hits first).
- The scoresheet has columns for 4 overs per bowler, but the limit is 3 (both years).
- Typos (both years): “should be warn by batter” (worn); “so it important” (it’s important); “no 'Free Hit' is given can be given”; “Wides However, in the last over, 6 legitimate deliveries must be bowled”; a missing closing bracket after “(Bowlers can bowl from a shorter distance if needed”. New in 2026/27: “The Bowler and Wicker Keeper do not count as Fielders”.