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[Seniorplayer]

 our league has the same system for half the season if you  win batting first  you get the  maximum  24 points batting and bowling points then do not come into it for the winning team.
The club that declared would be aware if they won they the opposition batting and bowling points wouldn't have mattered.
On that basis what happened is within the rules but against the spirit of the game.

[mdg20]

So bat first, score a billion runs and bowl the opposition out for 50.

What if you loose the toss, what if the oppo bat first just to stop you getting loads of batting points.
I really hope this makes the league review their points system

[mdg20]

our league has the same system for half the season if you  win batting first  you get the  maximum  24 points batting and bowling points then do not come into it for the winning team.
The club that declared would be aware if they won they the opposition batting and bowling points wouldn't have mattered.
On that basis what happened is within the rules but against the spirit of the game.

We have straight 25 points batting first in timed game or 20 if you chase. Only if you loose or draw do you get bonus points. Same in overs cricket, straight 20 for winner only bonus points if you loose.
Win points + bonus only works in CC where you bat twice so your first innings isn't affected by the result of the game. Unless you have bonuses based on margin of victory it's a completely flawed system.

[Boondougal]

I'm really sat on the fence when it comes to this... at the end of the day we all "use" the rules during a game to win / get an advantage etc etc... I guess they just did it on a whole new level but it still amounts tot he same as not walking when you may have nicked one and the thread the other day had plenty of people stating how they just leave it up to the umpires either way.

Fundamentally depends on the ethos / objectives of the team... if they play to win and winning means promotion then why is what they did wrong? They Won and achieved their aims all within the rules.

Have to say though... I play to play (and hopefully win) so if I was captain I would struggle to do something such as this, I would also struggle to be in a side that agreed this was the right thing to do....

[brokenbat]

I'd be more annoyed that I didn't get to play!

[Vitas Cricket]

The dinosaurs i've seen on social media moaning about the lack of respect to the spirit of cricket will often be the same dinosaurs who will vote against a change to the rules that have caused this whole debacle. Reasons given will be 'oh our rules have always been like this, we must keep the game traditional' etc

I'm not condoning Their decision to declare like that, I'd prefer to go out and win the game and lift the trophy heads held high, but I completely get why they did what they did.

[richthekeeper]

our league has the same system for half the season if you  win batting first  you get the  maximum  24 points batting and bowling points then do not come into it for the winning team.
The club that declared would be aware if they won they the opposition batting and bowling points wouldn't have mattered.
On that basis what happened is within the rules but against the spirit of the game.

Not quite - the points system in that league allows the winning team to score up to 10 bonus points in addition to the 20 points for winning. So the maximum would be 30. Knowing they were 21 ahead in the league the team in question chose not to risk getting bowled out while racking up a big score as there was potential for the opposition to score more than the 22 points needed to win the league.

The only problem with the league rules here is that there is no penalty for a declaration. Usually you'd see a declaration being regarded as the team having been bowled out and therefore the bowling team receive full bowling points. This wouldn't have prevented the farcical circumstances in question.

That said, it's an absolutely disgraceful thing to do and shame on Carew CC for doing it.

[Big Mac]

What if you loose the toss, what if the oppo bat first just to stop you getting loads of batting points.
I really hope this makes the league review their points system

They can't have lost the toss and bowled first every week.

If they're so dominant that teams always bat first against them and get bowled out for double digits then Carew should have been more than 21 pts clear at the top in the last week of the season.

I'd be more annoyed that I didn't get to play!

This guy knows the score!

[LBWCandidate]

The whole point of amateur leagues is to go out, play and have fun. Winning feels good but playing a game and winning is the best.

[Lumsden]

Must be a very weird club because if I was the skipper and tried that stunt, I am sure all the guys who I play cricket with would simply continue the match regardless. Pethaps there is something extra which has not been disclosed?

[enlightened]

Not how I would want to win a league.

Just my personal opinion, but that's shitcakes really - win with your head held high, not at all costs!

This.

[smilley792]

Happened in a league I played in about ten years ago(know defunct league)

Top declared after 2balls on 1 for non. And celebrated all night long.

2 weeks later the league through them out for going against the spirit of cricket and the oppo got awarded the title.

They then changed the rules that if a team declared the oppo got full bonus points for that innings regardless

[Neon Cricket]

They then changed the rules that if a team declared the oppo got full bonus points for that innings regardless

That's how the Wilts league works - we declared Saturday (bearing in mind we'd put up 310 within 39 overs) so the oppo ended up with full bowling points. We declared for their sake more than anything, no point putting up 400 against anyone! Bowled them out for 80 odd so clearly the right decision in that respect.

With regards to the Wales incident I wouldn't have done that personally, however I do understand the reasoning - they've still had to play well all season to get 1st place at the end of the day to be fair to them.

[tom line]

I don't mind it so much to be honest, not within the spirit no,  but within the rules and quite clever really. Plus I'd imagine if that's the way they want to play cricket and substitute the spirit of the game for promotion, I'd imagine the other teams in that league were probably fairly happy to see the back of them

[northernboy1987]

I'm with @FattusCattus I think it's a shithouse tactic and if others think it makes me soft I couldn't care less, I'd rather finish second than win like that.