Devon Cricket Board - More views from players and supportes on the weather debate

More views from players and supportes on the weather debate

Previous posts on this topic

WE should not suspend promotion/relegation at this point in the season. My thoughts are with Budleigh and the state that their ground is in, however, the DCL should not change things for one team.
Budleigh 2nd XI have lost every game they have played so I'm not sure that it would be fair on Plymstock 2nd XI who are 36 pts clear (of third place and promotion) in the B Division to be denied going up.

The solution, maybe looking in to some sort of average points or even how many points teams concede, so the points difference in games, could be considered. We've won every game we've played, not tied, drawn or lost a single game and conceded five points just once and all other games have been 4 or less but we're 2nd in the league.

This could be viewed as ‘unfair’ but we play in England in English weather and as many other captains have already said there are many examples of teams in previous seasons being affected by the weather for promotion or relegation.

Richard Nelsey – Exeter 2^nd XI captain
The cricket weather debate is the most stupid thing I have ever heard.
Budleigh's chairman comes out and says “Promotion and relegation should be decided over an entire season,”
What constitutes an entire season? One rain-off then every league should be void??? The question isn't 'should promotion/relegation be suspended this year?' it is more a common sense question
'Should the teams that got off to a good start be penalised and the teams that haven't be rewarded?' Thats the real question and surely there is only one answer?
Now if Budleigh are going to cry about the Devon weather and moan about going down one league in Devon (we all know its just village fun cricket anyway) then tell them to join a professional league where it matters!
If they go down and they were too good to go down they will get promoted next season, problem solved!
Steve Lewis – Babbacombe CC
Promotion and relegation must remain at all costs...it is difficult enough to encourage players and officials to commit so much time to the sport as it is, without suggesting that it may all count for nothing by the end of a season.
No solution will be ideal to every participant, as they will all have their own agendas, so ultimately you must aim to achieve a system that is accepted by the majority as fair and which is voted for "out of season".
Not everyone agrees with "Duckworth-Lewis" but it is closer to being "fair" than flat run-rate. I would therefore suggest that the DCL adapts a similar system where teams average points achieved in games played are added to the average points their opposition have had scored against them and divided by two. ie if a side at the top averages 16pts in games played and their game against a side at the bottom, whose opposition average 14 pts, is cancelled, then they receive 15pts (16+14 divided by 2).
Whereas the team from the bottom may average 7pts and their oppositions average 9pts against, so they would receive 8pts (7+9 divided by 2).
Of course the actual points would have to be ascertained at the end of the season to give a "fair" average, but you would be able to keep an updated average meanwhile.
Whereas now you receive 6pts for a cancelled game against the top OR bottom team, you would receive an average reflecting your seasons performance on the field.
Everyone has my sympathy as players just want to play...mind you I can't sympathise with Andy Kingdon’s comment about overseas – Brady Barends might be a nice guy but the last thought when arranging fixtures should be the overseas!
Kevin Field – unattached
Other leagues I have played in previously have operated on average as opposed to points total. This in itself helps teams who lose more games to the weather
Ali Fury - Thorverton
At Yelverton, being located on the west side of Dartmpoor, we normally expect 2-3 abandonments/cancellations a season.
But in the 2nd's we've only completed three games out of nine. It would've been 4 from 10 but I've just heard that Kingskerswell 2nd's have pulled out of the league, and we lost to them anyway!

With only one to be relegated now the odds have improved for any team in the bottom three or four

In stark contrast, our 1st XI are riding high in the D Division and have only had one fixture cancelled out of 10.

It show's that it's largely amount of luck as to who you're playing on a particular day and where?

Chris Pearson – Yelverton 2nd XI

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