Competition integrity is an important part of our game and all Affiliates are expected to uphold best practice and integrity of cricket competitions across New South Wales.
It is a requirement of participation in any cricket match run by Affiliates that players must be registered prior to the commencement of the day’s play. All cricket participants are required to accept the Terms and Conditions of Player Registration for Cricket in New South Wales. Importantly, these conditions require that players must be registered with a club and/or association and provide true and accurate information when registering.
Circumstances where players take to the field without completing the registration process are considered a threat to competition integrity and breach the Terms and Conditions of Player Registration and the New South Wales Cricket Association (NSWCA) By Laws. It is important from a risk management perspective that players are registered prior to participating in cricket. It is the responsibility of every club and association to track fill-in players, to ensure all players that are participating in a match have registered before taking the field.
A player taking the field as a fill-in-player is considered an unregistered participant and any association that becomes aware of this may also choose to apply sanctions towards the player, team and club, as it sees fit, in accordance with its own rules and the NSWCA Constitution and By Laws.
Cricket NSW (NSWCA) can take specific actions regarding players who are unregistered, as per the NSWCA By-Laws:
- Player Registration Requirement: No player is eligible to participate in a cricket match unless they have registered with an Affiliate through the NSWCA's online registration system and paid the applicable fees. If a player is found to be unregistered, the Association or NSWCA has the authority to refuse or suspend their participation. In Cricket NSW managed competitions, fines or deduction of competition points may be imposed, depending on the specific violation and the discretion of NSWCA.
- Enforcing Registration: NSWCA reserves the right to refuse, suspend, or cancel a player's registration at its discretion if there are any breaches of the registration process, such as providing false information or violating integrity policies.
- Consequences for Affiliates: If an Affiliate knowingly allows unregistered players to participate in matches, it can face fines, suspension, or disqualification.