Policy 2 – Eligibility

Posted on June 20, 2025

Policy approved 5 June 2026

  1. Jurisdiction
    1. There are eligibility criteria for the Metropolitan Youth Championships (MYC), run by Cricket NSW (CNSW) and separate but consistent NSJCA criteria, which also apply to competitions run by the Independent District Cricket Association (IDCA). 
  2. Age Group Definitions
    1. As per club cricket, a player’s age group is based on the player’s age as at 31 August before the start of a given season. 
  3. NSJCA Age Group Rules
    1. Boys are to trial and play solely in their age groups in the upcoming season.  There are three exceptions:
      1. Players who will be aged 9 on 31 August are given an automatic dispensation to trial and play in the U11s.  
      2. Players who will be aged 10 on 31 August are given an automatic dispensation to trial and play in the U12s.
      3. Players in the U12-U14 age groups inclusive can be given dispensation to play in a higher age group.  Such dispensation is granted on a case-by-case basis and according to policies described below.

Illustration – Boys’ Trialling and Playing Age Groups

Age at 31 August 2025Trial and playing age group for season 2025/26
9 or 10U11
10 or 11U12
12U13
13U14
14U15
  1. Girls who are
    1. 12 or under as of 31 August are eligible to play in the U13s in the upcoming season.
    2. 14 or under as of 31 August are eligible to play in the U15s in the upcoming season.
  2. Girls are permitted to play in both the U13s and U15s in a given season if selected. 
  1. CNSW’s Eligibility Rules – Girls
    1. Girls are eligible to represent an Association or Zone by satisfying any of the criteria below:
      1. The player is enrolled in a school within the boundaries of that Association/Zone. 
      2. The player resides within the boundaries of that Association/Zone. 
      3. The player plays for a club within the boundaries of that Association/Zone (the club may be a Women’s Premier Cricket club including Brewer Shield or a junior club within an Association).  
    2. Girls who meet more than one of these criteria across different Associations/Zones may choose which Association/Zone they represent; however, may only represent one Association/Zone in a single season.
  2. CNSW’s Eligibility Rules – Boys 
    1. Players can only trial to represent one Association per season.  If they are not selected at the trial, they cannot represent another Association in that season.  If they are selected, then they must play for that Association’s representative team for the duration of the season.  
    2. Prior to attending a trial, players must formally nominate their chosen Association by submitting their nomination to CNSW using this form:

      https://www.playhq.com/cricket-australia/register/4eb09f.
    3. Prior to the first round of the upcoming representative season, players in the U12-U15 inclusive age groups must have an active and fully paid registration for a club that plays in a competition administered by the Association they wish to represent and then play for that club in the upcoming club season.

Note: NSJCA has minimum club playing requirements for representative players.  Those requirements are described below.  

  1. Players in the U12-U15 inclusive age groups who play Premier Cricket or Shires Cricket (rather than junior club cricket) are eligible to play junior representative cricket.  Those players must nominate for the Association they last played for, or qualified with, if they:
    1. played the majority of the prior season with Premier Cricket or Shires Cricket, or 
    2. have registered, or intend to register, to play with Premier Cricket or Shires Cricket for the upcoming season.
  2. Players’ parents are to contact the Sub Committee if they wish to apply for dispensation to CNSW’s eligibility rules.   
  3. NSJCA’s Eligibility Rules – Behaviour and Commitment
    1. At the recommendation of the Sub Committee, the Executive Committee may deem a player ineligible to represent NSJCA if:
      1. The player or the player’s parents have contravened CNSW’s or NSJCA’s codes of conduct in the previous season or seasons.  Further information about the codes can be found here.
      2. The player’s record of attendance and/or punctuality at matches and/or training in the previous season was poor and without reasonable explanation.
  1. NSJCA’s Eligibility Rules – Boys U11s
    1. Players in the U10-U11 age groups who wish to trial and play in the IDCA’s U11s development competition must:
      1. have registered to play for a club that plays in an NSJCA-administered competition if trials are held prior to the start of the upcoming club season
      2. be playing for a club that plays in an NSJCA-administered competition if the trials are held after the start of the upcoming season.
  2. NSJCA’s Eligibility Rules – Boys U12s-U15s
    1. Players who:
      1. Did not play for a club that plays in an NSJCA-administered competition in the prior season and who wish to represent NSJCA in the upcoming season must prove they live in the NSJCA catchment, are moving into the catchment or are at boarding school in the catchment. 
      2. Played for a club that plays in an NSJCA-administered competition in the prior season and who wish to represent NSJCA in the upcoming season must register to play for a club that plays in an NSJCA-administered competition in that season and have met the Club Playing Requirement the prior season.
    2. The Club Playing Requirement is:
      1. Players in the U11 age group must have played all club level matches for a club that plays in an NSJCA-administered competition except if those matches conflicted with the timing of representative matches or where club coaches deemed absences to be reasonable, consistent with standards that applied to non-representative players. 
      2. Players in the U12-13 inclusive age groups must have played a minimum of three club-level matches for a club that plays in an NSJCA-administered competition but have been available to play other club matches except if those matches conflicted with the timing of representative matches.  Reasons for unavailability include injury, the need to prevent injury, fatigue, illness, school sport commitments and family commitments.  
      3. Players in the U14-U15 inclusive age groups must have played a minimum of three club-level matches for a club that plays in an NSJCA-administered competition or one club-level match for a club that plays in an NSJCA-administered competition and two other matches for an NSJCA representative team.
    3. Club-level matches:
      1. include those where composite representative teams are formed to play as a team in a club competition; 
      2. exclude trial matches and matches played by club teams in any competition other than the season-long, round-robin competition.
  3. IDCA’s Eligibility Rules
    1. Players selected to play for MYC teams in a given season cannot play for IDCA teams in the same season.
  1. Playing in Different Age Groups – Boys
    1. No dispensation will be given for any player to play in a younger age group.
    2. In age groups other than U11s and U12s, a player must apply to the Sub Committee for dispensation to play in a higher age group.  In such cases, dispensation will only be given to play in one age group higher than the player’s age group. 
    3. Dispensation to play in a higher age group expires automatically after 12 months.  Players who wish to continue playing in a higher age group must re-apply annually for dispensation. 
    4. Applications for dispensation to play in a higher age group must be submitted to the Sub Committee by 7 December in a given year.
    5. CNSW approves requests to grant dispensation to play in a higher age group.  Decisions by NSJCA to make such requests must be made unanimously by one of the Convenor or Deputy Convenor of the Sub Committee, one other member of the Sub Committee and NSJCA’s Executive Officer.  Decisions will be based on these factors:
      1. The player’s representative playing record.
      2. Whether the player’s developmental needs might be impeded if the player stays in the current age group.  
      3. The potential loss to the player’s current age group.
      4. The potential gain to the higher age group.
    6. Where CNSW approves a request for dispensation to play in a higher age group, the Sub Committee is to inform the Dispensation Sub Committee and include the details in NSJCA’s Player Approved List, which is here.
    7. A player granted dispensation to play in a higher age group must trial in that age group, cannot trial in the player’s age group and cannot play in the player’s age group.