What’s changed · 2026/27
What’s Changed – Year 7 & 8 Morning, 2025/26 to 2026/27
Sources:
- 2025/26: CJCA Year 7 & 8 Hardball rules, dated 5 August 2025 (the date is in the file name; the cover has no “as at” date). One document covered both the Morning and Premier grades. See the Year 7 & 8 Morning rules (2025/26).
- 2026/27: CJCA Year 7 & 8 Morning Hardball rules, “as at 26th August 2026”, now a separate document from Premier. See the Year 7 & 8 Morning rules (2026/27).
This compares the two documents clause by clause for the Year 7 & 8 Morning grades, and cross-checks the CJCA’s 2026/27 announcements and the CJCA Mixed Grade Summary.
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
- Shorter games: 27 six-ball overs per side (was 30), with drinks after 14 overs, the first innings finished by 10.30 am and the match completed by 12.15 pm.
- Retirement: batters retire immediately after facing 25 balls, not counting wides and no-balls (was at the end of the over in which they had faced 30 balls, counting wides and no-balls).
- Grace-period bonus: the bowling side gets 5 runs for a dismissal in the grace period (was 3). The grace period is still the first 6 balls faced.
- Bowling limits: at least 8 players must have bowled 3 overs before anyone bowls a 4th (the 9th being a specialist wicketkeeper); “No bowler may bowl more than 4 overs total … unless agreed to by both teams”; keepers who share the gloves should each bowl 2 overs.
- Fielding restriction (new): a maximum of 4 fielders on the boundary, so the other 3 must be closer to the batter than the boundary.
- Run-up (new for Morning): a maximum of 15 m, marked by a cone if necessary. In 2025/26 the 15 m limit was given only for the afternoon (Premier) grades.
- Also new: a no-ball when the ball doesn’t land on the pitch; the POD system for batting and bowling rotation; a PlayHQ note for the last over.
- Unchanged: 9 a side, 18 m pitch, 40 m boundary, 10 m exclusion zone, 142 g leather ball, a 6-ball grace period, 6-ball overs with no extra balls (except the last over), back-foot-only LBW, 1 run for each wide or no-ball, free hits after no-balls, unlimited byes and overthrows.
- ⚠ 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”.
- ⚠ Free hits: the Morning rules still say a free hit follows a no-ball “in the first to SEVENTH ball of an over”, and give 2 runs for a wide or no-ball “on the 8th ball of an over”, although Morning overs are a maximum of 6 balls. The Mixed Grade Summary says the 6th ball.
Rules table
Format, players and ground
| Rule | 2025/26 | 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|
| Document | One document for Morning and Premier | Separate Morning document (it still includes the Premier start time and a paragraph on Premier) – effectively Same |
| Team size | 9 a side | Same |
| Fewer than 9 players | Ask the opposition to balance the teams; bowling limits “can be extended to 4 overs each”; dismissed players with the fewest balls faced bat again; retired batters return before additional batters; opposition players may field | Same (the additional-batter sentences are now highlighted as new, but were already in the 2025/26 rules) |
| More than 9 players | Only 9 field at a time; the innings ends at the 9th wicket against a team of 9 | Same |
| Batting order rotation | “Rotation of the batting order is required” | Same, “and the CJCA recommends the POD system being used”; a new section says a CJCA Directive (August 2026) “states teams in all non-pairs grades should operate a ‘POD system’” |
| Start time | 9.00 am Saturday, or 4.30 pm for a Friday round; 20/20 format for Friday or evening rounds | Same |
| Pitch length | 18 m (yellow lines on artificial wickets) | Same |
| Boundary | 40 m or natural boundaries | 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 |
| General conditions (pages 1–2) | Teams provide stumps, bails, a ball, “hitting tees (where needed)” and cones | Hitting tees no longer listed; grade convenors changed (Year 7 Mark Teesdale, Year 8 Dwayne McCormick) – effectively Same |
Match structure
| Rule | 2025/26 | 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|
| Innings | One innings each; coin toss for who starts | Same |
| Overs per side | 30 overs (6-ball maximum), “a maximum of 180 balls” | 27 overs (6-ball maximum) |
| Timings | “should be able to be completed by 12.15 (3 minutes per over)” | Start 9 am; drinks after 14 overs (target 9.45 am); first innings finished by 10.30 am; second innings starts by 10.45 am, drinks after 14 overs (target 11.30 am); “Match completed by 12.15pm” |
| Bowling ends | Change ends only after each 5-over block | Same |
| Exclusion zone | 10 m fielding exclusion zone, not applying to the wicketkeeper; slips and gullies on the off side may be closer | Same |
| Pitch map | Appendix 1 pitch map (May 2024): 18 m pitch, 10 m exclusion zone, slips and gullies permitted backward of the wicket | Same (the same map) |
| Scoresheet | Shared Year 7 & 8 sheet: 30 overs, “3 runs per wicket taken in Grace Period” | Year 7 & 8 Morning sheet (June 2026): 27 overs, 5 bonus runs per grace-period wicket |
Batting and dismissals
| Rule | 2025/26 | 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|
| Grace period length | First 6 balls faced | Same (“6 balls morning grades”, with “face” now in bold) |
| Grace-period bonus | Bowling side gets “a bonus 3 runs” | Bowling side gets “a bonus 5 runs” |
| Grace-period batters and retirement | Batters dismissed in the grace period may not return as retired batters (marked “(New)”); change ends with the non-striker | Same |
| Retirement | At “the end of the over in which they have faced 30 balls (INCLUDING wides and no balls)” | “until they have faced 25 balls (NOT INCLUDING wides and no balls) when they must retire IMMEDIATELY” |
| Retired batters returning | In the order they retired, once all others are out or retired | Same |
| Retiring batters early | Not allowed unless playing with more than 9 players | Same |
| Free hits | After a no-ball “in the first to SEVENTH ball of an over”; run-out only; field stays set; 2 runs for a wide or no-ball on the 8th ball | Same (“2 runs will be scored (manually entered)”) – ⚠ written for 8-ball overs in both seasons |
| Last batter standing | The not-out batter keeps batting; the last batter out acts as non-striker | Same |
| LBW | Back-foot LBW only, on appeal, “ANY doubt – not out” | Same (the heading now reads “LBW in Morning Year 7 & 8 & Year 7 Premier (Afternoon) Cricket”) |
Extras, free hits and wides
| Rule | 2025/26 | 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|
| Wides | Full wides on the off side, halfway to that on the leg side; not a wide if it hits the batter; coaches and umpires agree a standard before the game | Same |
| Runs for wides and no-balls | 1 run plus any 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 plus any runs scored (the contradictory sentence is removed) – effectively Same |
| Extra balls | “No extra balls are bowled for wides or no balls in Year 7 & 8 Morning grades”; the last over must be 6 legitimate balls | Same, plus “In Morning grades PlayHQ should allow unlimited balls until 6 legitimate balls are bowled in the final over” |
| No-balls | Bounces twice or rolls; above the waist on the full; above the shoulder after bouncing; fielders encroaching into the exclusion zone | Same, plus “The ball does not land on pitch” |
| Throwing | No penalty for a thrown delivery; a batter shouldn’t be given out off an obvious throw | Same |
Fielding
| Rule | 2025/26 | 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|
| Fielders on the boundary | Not stated | “A maximum of 4 players can be on the boundary which means that the 3 remaining Fielders must be closer to the Batter than the Boundary” – highlighted as new |
| Byes and overthrows | Unlimited | Same |
| Recording catches, stumpings and run-outs | On the scoresheet or in PlayHQ | Same |
Bowling and scoring
| Rule | 2025/26 | 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|
| Overs per bowler | “Max 5 overs per bowler”; “No bowler may bowl a 4th over until ALL others have bowled 3” | Same, plus “A minimum of 8 players must have bowled 3 overs each before any player can bowl a fourth over, provided the ninth player is the designated specialist wicketkeeper” and “No bowler may bowl more than 4 overs total in a 27 or 30-over game unless agreed to by both teams” – ⚠ 4 or 5 |
| Shared wicketkeeping | Not stated | “Should wicket keeping be shared each of the players should bowl 2 overs when not wicket keeping.” |
| Successive overs | No bowler bowls successive overs; 5 overs at the same end | Same |
| Balls per over | Maximum 6; the last over must be 6 legitimate deliveries | Same |
| Run-up | ⚠ Not stated for Morning (the 15 m limit is under “Over Length Afternoon Grades” only) | Maximum 15 m, “indicated by a cone if necessary” |
| Runs for dismissals (Scoring section) | “3 runs are added to the bowling side for each dismissal obtained” | “5 runs are added to the bowling side for each dismissal obtained” |
Cross-check with the 2026/27 announcements
The CJCA published several announcements for 2026/27 that touch the Year 7 & 8 Morning grades: the Grade and Playing Conditions changes document, the Grace Period, Retirement Levels, Retired and Additional Batters, No-Balls and Wides and Fielding Restrictions posters, and the POD system directive and poster. The CJCA Mixed Grade Summary (1 August 2026) is checked too.
| Announcement says | 2026/27 Morning rules |
|---|---|
| Year 7 & 8 Morning grades “will move to being 27 SIX ball overs”; with 9 players “each player can bowl 3 overs”. | Matches (27 overs; 9 × 3 = 27). |
| Year 7 & 8 batters “retire after 25 LEGITMATE BALLS”, wides and no-balls not counted, “SHOULD BE RETIRED IMMEDIATELY” (changes document and Retirement Levels poster). | Matches. |
| Wides and no-balls don’t count towards the grace period either; “Only legitimate balls count towards grace period” (Grace Period poster; No-Balls and Wides poster). | Implied only: the grace-period rule says the first 6 balls “they face”, without saying that wides and no-balls are excluded. |
| 5 bonus runs for wickets in the grace period in non-pairs cricket. | Matches (“a bonus 5 runs”). ⚠ The Scoring section says 5 runs “for each dismissal obtained”, not only grace-period dismissals. |
| Grace period of 6 balls in all grades except Premier. | Matches. |
| Retired batters return in the order they retired; additional batters by fewest balls faced; no early retirement “FOR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE”. | Matches (the rules don’t use the words “for competitive advantage”). |
| Run-ups no longer than 15 m in Year 7 & 8, marked by a cone if necessary. | Matches. |
| Bowling over limits and shared keepers (the same bullets as the rules, including both “more than 4 overs” and “Max 5 overs”). | Matches, word for word. ⚠ The Mixed Grade Summary gives “Max Overs per bowler” as 5. |
| “In all CJCA grades at least 3 players must be closer to the Batter than to the Boundary”; the poster adds the 10 m exclusion zone, slips and gullies closer than 10 m, and helmets for keepers. | Matches (“A maximum of 4 players can be on the boundary … the 3 remaining Fielders must be closer”). |
| PODs: the CJCA is “strongly recommending” them; the directive says clubs “are strongly encouraged” to adopt them; Top POD batters may not bowl until 50% of the overs are bowled (“after 14 overs (drinks)” in the 27-over Morning game). | The rules say “the CJCA recommends the POD system being used” and that the directive “states teams in all non-pairs grades should operate a ‘POD system’”. The bowling restriction for the Top POD isn’t in the rules; they link to the POD poster (“MORE DETAIL – CLICK HERE”). |
| Mixed Grade Summary: extras worth 2 runs on the “6th ball of an over (Year 7/8 Morning grades)” – no free hit. | ⚠ The rules say “the 8th ball of an over” and free hits after no-balls “in the first to SEVENTH ball”. |
| Mixed Grade Summary: 27 overs, 9 a side, 18 m, 40 m, 142 g, 9 am start, back-foot LBW, 15 m run-up, unlimited byes. | Matches. |
Possible errors or inconsistencies
Affecting how the game is played
- Overs per bowler (2026/27): one bullet says both “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”. The Team Size section also says that with fewer than 9 players “bowling limits can be extended to 4 overs each”, which is no extension if 4 is already the limit. (In 2025/26 the same Team Size sentence sat beside “Max 5 overs per bowler”.)
- Free hits in 6-ball overs (both seasons): the Morning rules say “If a NO BALL is bowled in the first to SEVENTH ball of an over, the next ball is a ‘Free Hit’” and “Where a wide or a no ball is bowled on the 8th ball of an over, 2 runs will be scored (manually entered) as no ‘Free Hit’ can be given as the maximum deliveries in an over are 8”, but Morning overs are “a maximum of 6 balls” with no extra balls. The Mixed Grade Summary says the 6th ball. In 2025/26 this was a shared Morning/Premier section; in 2026/27 the Premier wording was copied into the Morning-only document.
- Bonus runs “for each dismissal obtained” (both seasons): the Scoring section says “5 runs are added to the bowling side for each dismissal obtained” (2025/26: 3 runs), but the grace-period rule gives bonus runs only for dismissals within the grace period. The scoresheets say “per wicket taken in Grace Period”.
- Wides and no-balls in 2025/26: the Scoring section said “No extra runs scored for wides or no balls other than the runs obtained from hitting off the cone”, contradicting “The batting side is awarded 1 run for each wide or no ball” (and Year 7 & 8 has no hitting cones). The sentence is gone in 2026/27.
- Run-up in 2025/26: the only run-up limit (“Bowlers should have a maximum of a 15-metre run up.”) was under “Over Length Afternoon Grades”.
Document and wording issues
- Table of contents (2026/27): two Word errors – “LBW in Year 8 Premier (Afternoon) Cricket Error! Bookmark not defined.” and “Over Length Afternoon Grades ……… Error! Bookmark not defined.”. Neither section is in the Morning document.
- Premier text left in the Morning document (2026/27): “Premier Year 7 and 8 starts at 12.30pm on Saturdays”; “up to 8 balls can be bowled in each over ONLY IN YEAR 7 and 8 PREMIER AFTERNOON CRICKET”; the italic paragraph on the Premier grades; “Batters who are dismissed within the first 6 balls morning grades (3 balls in Premier grade) they face”.
- Highlighting (2026/27): the additional-batter sentences (“The additional batter(s) are selected by the least number of balls faced…”) are highlighted as new, but they were already in the 2025/26 rules.
- Garbled sentences (2026/27): “Morning All games are one innings each of a maximum of 27 (six ball) overs”; “given out LBW if the following applies LBW in Morning Year 7 & 8 & Year 7 Premier (Afternoon) Cricket” (a heading run into the sentence); “ANY doubt – not out.” printed twice.
- Email links (2026/27): both “gm@cjca.org.nz” links on pages 1–2 point to “about:blank”. (In 2025/26 the address was plain text.)
- CJCA website links: the website’s Year 7 Premier and Year 8 Premier links pointed at different versions of the Premier document (26 August and 13 October 2026). The Morning document is not affected, but its LBW heading names Year 7 Premier.
- 2025/26 only: “(See graphics below)” after the leg-side wide rule, with no graphic in the document; “ONLY IN YEAR 7 and 8 PREMIER AFTERNOON CRIKCET”; the missing closing bracket after “(Bowlers can bowl from a shorter distance if needed” (fixed in 2026/27); “(New)” before the grace-period retirement sentence; the cover has no “as at” date.
- Typos carried over: “should be warn by batter” (worn); “so it important”; “either as team or vai their Club/School Convenor” (via); “can be sued to make any grade/section adjustments” (used); “The grades provides”; “agree on a stand” (standard); “Retired not out batsman”.