Updated Dec 2025

1. Title and Constitution

1.1   The League shall be called ‘The Northern Premier Cricket League’ (NPCL)

1.2   The NPCL will be the first teams of member clubs.

1.3    The NPCL is a member of the Northern Pyramid Cricket Competition (NPCC) and subject to its Constitution, Rules and Regulations. Should this Constitution be in conflict with these rules the NPCC Constitution Rules will override this Constitution.

2. The Northern League Management Committee (NLMC)

2.1   The NLMC shall consist of one representative from each club.

2.2   Eight representatives are required for a meeting to be quorate.

2.3   There will be a minimum of a pre-season meeting in April, two meetings held in June and August, a pre-AGM (Annual General Meeting) meeting held in October or early November, and an AGM held in December.

2.4   An agenda and minutes of the previous meeting shall be sent to each club representative and NLEC members 7 days beforehand.

2.5 Any club which is not represented at an NLMC meeting shall be fined £100 deducted on the 1st occasion a meeting is missed in any calendar year and fined £200 for missing any subsequent meetings in that year. Non-attendance at the AGM or any SGM shall result in a deduction of 5 League points from the following season’s points.

2.6   All matters other than alteration to League rules and rules governing playing conditions shall be decided by a simple majority vote.

2.7   The Chair of the NLEC or his delegate will have a casting vote in the event of a tie.

2.8   The NLMC shall have the right to elect suitable persons as ‘Life Vice-Presidents’ in recognition of their services to the League.

3. The Northern League Executive Committee (NLEC)

 3.1   The NLEC shall consist of the following officials who are elected at the AGM: Chairman;
Vice-Chairman; Secretary; Registration Secretary; Safeguarding Officer; Women and Girls Cricket Officer; Umpires’ Appointments Secretary; Disciplinary Officer; Grounds and Facilities Officer; Fixtures Secretary; Results Secretary.  The Executive will work with the Pyramid Executive Board and Pyramid Sub Committees on appropriate matters.

3.2   Quorum.  Six representatives which must include two out of the Chair, Vice Chair, or Secretary, are required for a meeting to be quorate.

3.3   The elected officials form the NLEC and will be responsible to the NLMC for the running of the NPCL.

3.4   NLEC members cannot act as representatives for clubs and vote at the NLMC meetings.

3.5   The NLEC can form sub-committees to deal with specific areas of League business such as, playing conditions etc. Sub-committee meetings will be chaired by a member of the NLEC or PEB, and members of the NPCL with special expertise may be co-opted to the sub-committee. 

3.6   The AGM may elect a League President. If so elected, the office of President will carry no voting rights. It will be a non-executive, honorary position with an ambassadorial and ceremonial role. The elected President elected by the NLMC, shall be entitled to host an annual President’s Day.

3.7 It is a requirement of all elected Executive Officers that they should at all times act in the best interests of the League as a whole and seek to represent the collective interests of all clubs impartially and objectively.  Where serving Executive Officers have a current active link to a member club, it becomes almost inevitable that from time to time a conflict of interest might arise.

a) Disclosure.  It is the responsibility of an elected Executive Officer to declare a conflict of interest on any matter that arises.

b) A conflicted Executive Officer shall be prohibited from voting on any matter in which there is a declared conflict.

c) Failure to disclose. Should an elected Executive Officer fail to disclose a conflict which later comes to light, then that Executive Officer will be suspended pending an investigation and potentially be required to relinquish their office.

3.8 The members of the NLEC may claim Expenses per year to cover the cost of Meetings, Phone Calls, Travel etc.

4. Annual General Meeting (AGM)

4.1   Notices of motion/s from clubs and the Executive for consideration at the AGM must reach the Secretary by the 30th September..

4.2   Proposals of clubs MUST be seconded by a different club. (This can happen at a meeting in October)

4.3   Notice of the AGM shall be sent to clubs and all NLEC members at least 7 days before the date of the meeting together with: an Agenda; the previous year’s AGM minutes; motion/s from the Executive; and, motion/s that have been proposed and seconded from clubs.

4.4 Any alteration to the League rules and the rules governing playing conditions considered by any general meeting (AGM or SGM) may only be carried by a 2/3rd majority of the clubs participating in the NPCL.

4.5 All NPCL meetings may take place in person or an appropriate virtual meeting platform. Voting may be in person or by electronic means

5. Special General Meeting (SGM)

5.1   An SGM to consider rule changes, playing conditions or other important matters can be called by the NLEC or on the petition of at least half of the clubs in the NPCL.

5.2   Clubs must be given at least 7-days-notice of an SGM and provided with a notice of the business to be considered.

• An SGM may not be called by a club on a proposal or a substantially similar proposal where a vote has previously been taken at an AGM or SGM until a minimum of 2 years has elapsed since the previous vote.

6. Trophies

6.1 All the team trophies presented annually plus the Clive Henderson Young Player of the Year trophy remain the property of the NPCL Management Committee.

6.2 Club and individual winners presented with these trophies become temporary custodians and have a responsibility to take good care of the trophies and ensure that they are returned in good condition.

6.3 All trophies must be returned cleaned and polished to the NPCL Executive by 30th June in the year after their presentation.

6.4 The NPCL Executive (competitions sub-committee) are to ensure that the trophies are engraved to show all previous winners before the trophy is re-presented. 

6.5 Where medals and individual mementos are presented these become the permanent property of the recipient.

6.6 If costs are incurred in relation to condition or for replacement of these trophies these costs will be passed on to the club and or individual responsible.

7. Cricket Balls

Cricket balls.  The make and grade of ball used in all NPCL league fixtures, League Cup and NPCL T20 fixtures shall be determined by the NLMC. All new balls put into play must be of this make and grade.  All new balls must be ordered through the NPCL using the order forms supplied.

8. Prize Money

Prize monies will be awarded to the winners of the following divisions:

1. Northern Premier Cricket League Division One: £500
2. Northern Premier Cricket League League Cup: £250

9. Registration of Amateur Players

9.1   All players must be registered with the NPCL using the play-cricket.com website. All new registrations after 1 January 2026 must include a photo of the player.

9.2   Clubs who play an unregistered player in a match will be subject to a points deduction of 15 League points for that match and their opposition will receive 10 League points unless they have achieved more points than 10 in the game. In such a case they will receive the League points that they have achieved in the game. There are 3 Categories of players as follows:

Category 1: A player who is either (1) a British Citizen AND was born in England or Wales OR (2) has been resident in England and Wales for a minimum of 210 days per year between 1st April and 31st March following their first year of entry and are deemed to be ‘Home Players’ in England and Wales.

Category 2: A player capped or uncapped qualified to play for England under the current ECB regulations and currently under contract to a first-class County or MCC Young Cricketers. For the purposes of clarification, a contracted player is one who has a current full playing contract, a summer contract or a development (scholarship) contract but not an Academy contract (16-19 years).

Category 3: Players not deemed ‘Ordinarily Resident’. For further clarification please see Player Registration Protocols.

9.3   New Unattached Players to a club must be registered by 12.00pm on Matchday. Players who are transferring from another club as per 9.4 must be registered by Wednesday 11pm. The Registration secretary will confirm that the player is eligible once approval has come from their releasing club.

9.4   The NCPL will not accept registration of a player who is transferring from another club either within the league or from another league without confirmation on play-cricket.com from the ‘releasing club’ or league that the player has no financial or disciplinary matters outstanding. This confirmation is required for transfers occurring at any time of the year.

9.5   No player may play for the NPCL first team in a league or cup game after the 14th of August who has not already played in the current season for that club in any team including juniors in any league or cup fixture. This rule does not apply to any player who has been registered by the club in either the NPCL, Palace Shield, Cumbria Cricket League, Eden Valley or Westmorland League prior to the commencement of the season:

1. who is in full-time or higher education;   or
2. is a former or first-class cricketer who played for the club as an amateur before attaining 1st class status; or
3. is a person who has played for the club as an amateur in any of the 4 preceding seasons. Failure to comply with this rule will result in a deduction of 15 League points.

9.6   Clubs may register as many Category 1 players as they wish.

9.7   Clubs may register multiple Category 3 player (Overseas Player) but they may only play one in each game.

9.8   The NLEC shall have the power to refuse to register any player. If this power is exercised the player shall be advised of the reason for the registration being refused.

9.9   Any player refused registration shall have the right to appeal, to attend a hearing and provide written submissions in support of their case. Representatives of the club of which the player is a member/potential member have the right to attend the hearing and speak in support of the player. No member of the Executive (NLEC) can attend the hearing on behalf of the player.

9.10   The Appeals Committee considering registration shall be constituted in accordance with the NPCC disciplinary rules.

9.11   No former or current first-class cricketer can play as an amateur in the NPCL except for the club where he played as an amateur before attaining first class status. This rule does not apply to former first-class cricketers who have retired from first class cricket and who have not played first class cricket for the one year immediately preceding the commencement of the season.

9.12   No amateur player registered with the NPCL can play for a club in a different league in the same season unless he transfers to that club.

9.13   Any player registered as an amateur found to be receiving payments other than that approved by the NLEC will be banned from the NPCL. The NLEC shall have the authority to examine club accounts with regard to this matter. Clubs who are found to be paying players registered as amateurs will be deducted 50 League points and banned from participating in NPCL Cup Competitions for 2 years. (Withdrawn 15/9/2026)

9.14   All players including professionals, amateurs and overseas players must agree to be bound by the rules of the NPCL at the time of their registration and agree to be subject to the disciplinary rules of the NPCL. 

10. Professionals and Overseas Players

10.1   Clubs do not have to employ a professional but they can if they so wish. A professional must be registered by the start of the season. A professional will not be deemed registered UNTIL:

a) the Registration Secretary (RS) or Chair, has received a copy of the professional’s contract signed.

b) the RS has received a scanned copy of his current passport (I.D. page)

c) the RS has received police clearance certificate or equivalent dated in the current calendar year

d) the RS has received ECB Governing Body Endorsement (GBE).

No club may play a substitute professional unless their nominated professional’s registration has been completed in accordance with 14.1.a) and 14.1.b) above.

10.2   In the event of a professional being unable to play in a match or unable to complete his contract through injury, illness, compassionate grounds or recall by his county, state or national organisation, then a sub-pro who has not played at a higher level than the professional can be appointed. In these circumstances the Club does not have to appoint a sub-professional.

10.3   No appointment of a substitute shall be made without the permission of the Chair or Registration Secretary of the NPCL. Permission must be obtained prior to the match being played.

10.4   Substitution of a professional without permission shall result in a deduction of 15 points for a league game, and forfeit of a cup match.

1o.5   Out of courtesy any club using a substitute must advise the opposition in advance of arrival for play and ideally before midnight prior to the game.

10.6   The NPCL will support a club with legitimate grievances should a professional break his contract by banning him from future engagements in the NPCL. They will also report him to his county or national authority.

10.7   A professional is defined as a player who has received payment from his own or another club, country or county for playing cricket during the year commencing 1st April prior to the commencement of the season.

10.8   No registered professional or registered overseas player can play for more than one NPCL club during the course of a season. 

10.9   An ex-professional shall not be reinstated as an amateur in the same season in which he has been registered and playing as a professional.

10.10   No NPCL professional can be approached by another club with a view to engagement for the following season before 1st August, without the consent of his present club.

11. Player Points System (Effective 15/9/26)

11.1 Each adult player registered with an NPCL club to play in men’s fixtures is allocated player points allocation (PPA) as per Appendix A.

11.2 In each and every Northern Premier League Competition men’s fixture, a team must not exceed 20 Points. 

11.3 Should any club make a false of incorrect declaration regarding PPA this will be treated as a serious breach of the NPCC Code of Conduct. 

11.4 Should any team exceed the 20 player points total in any fixture they shall be penalised as follows:

- In League Championship Games, Clubs who exceed the player points cap in a match will be subject to a points deduction of 15 League Championship points for that match and their opposition will receive 10 League championship points unless they have achieved more points than 10 in the game. 

- In a Twenty20 or a League Cup League Phase Game, Clubs who exceed the player points cap in a match will be subject to a points deduction of 5 points, with the opposition receiving full win points. In a knockout game, the offending club would be expelled from the competition with the opposition progressing.

 12. Ground, Weather and Light

All grounds shall have adequate sight screens and no match in the competition may take place without them. Clubs must have adequate covering for the pitch and will be subject to reports by the umpires on its effectiveness and deployment, both prior to and during the match.   Clubs must also have adequate covering for the bowlers run ups.

 13. Umpires

13.1   The Umpires shall have their own organisation with elected officials.

13.2   The Umpires Appointments Secretary shall be elected to represent the interests of the Umpires on the NLEC and shall attend NLEC and NLMC meetings.

13.3   In the event of a selected Umpire failing to attend the match the two Captains shall select a substitute. If the Captains fail to agree then the Umpire present must select a substitute.

13.4   If the original Umpire officiates at both ends, he will receive increased expenses which will be twice the match expenses.

13.5   If both Umpires fail to turn up the Captains MUST agree two substitute Umpires and the match must be played.

13.6   Umpires will receive match expenses as agreed by the NPCC. Umpires’ expenses must be paid at the toss of the coin.

13.7   Captains of both the home and away teams must complete the ‘Umpires Assessment Form’ for each league and cup match (not T20) on Who’s The Umpire within two days of the game who will forward it to the Umpires, Assessment Panel. Failure to complete the form satisfactorily or send the form within two days shall result in a deduction of 2 League points which will be suspended for the duration of the season for the first offence. Should a club fail to comply on a second occasion during the season the 2 suspended League points together with 4 League points for the second offence shall be deducted immediately. Any further offences will result in an immediate deduction of 6 League points for each offence.

13.8. Umpires will award a match to their opponents if a team is not ready to play with at least SEVEN players by the scheduled start of play, irrespective of weather conditions.

14. League Membership

 A club becomes a member of the NPCL with voting rights at the point in time when their application for membership is accepted by a vote of the member clubs of the Pyramid; or at the point in time when a club accepts promotion into the NPCL. 

15. Champions/Promotion/Relegation 

15.1 In each Division the Club scoring the most points in the season shall be considered the Champions for that year.

15.2 In the event of two or more Clubs tying at the head of any Division, or for any position affecting promotion, relegation or re-election, the number of games won shall decide or, in the event of a similar record of wins, the net run rate per wicket of each team and its opponents throughout the season shall decide the issue.

15.3 The top two teams in Division Two shall be eligible for promotion to Division One.

15.4 Automatic relegation of the bottom two teams of each division shall normally take place but see also NPCC Constitution rule.

16 Live Streaming

16.1 All games shall be live streamed.

16.2 Home Clubs who do not continually make an attempt to live stream a fixture shall be liable to a fine of £50 per fixture. After the first warning, this fine shall be suspended for the first instance. For each game not live streamed the home club should email the secretary to explain reasons why. Note : Examples of Attempts can be seen by the Live Stream being available on Youtube, Partial Streaming, Blue Screen. Frogbox Communications.

16.3 Clubs using Live Streaming are solely responsible for doing so in strict compliance with the ECB and current safeguarding guidelines.

17 Administration

These relate to such routine matters as:

Play-cricket.com actions (result, scorecard, About Us, Injury Reports

Requests for information or surveys issued by the Executive.

Submission of votes (including abstentions) as and when required.        

A failure to complete and submit the identified administrative tasks within the given time period will result in the following sanctions being applied:

• 1st instance        - a first and final warning
• 2nd instance        - a £25 fine
• 3rd instance        - a £50 fine and a deduction of 2 league points
• 4th instance        - a £50 fine and a deduction of 4 league points         

18. Reimbursement of Expenses

Any officer of the League incurring expenses should have prior authorisation from the NPCC Treasurer. 

Claims for reimbursement for expenses incurred, must be accompanied by an email explaining those expenses. 

Claims for reimbursement of expenses should be supported by a bona fide receipt, or bona fide invoice.

In one-off instances where a receipt is not available a self-raised receipt should ideally be drawn up and signed by the person receiving the reimbursement.

APPENDIX A

Player Points-based Registration

Based on a “players category” as defined in the NPCL Constitution Rules 9 & 10 and the table below each player playing in the NPCL men’s Competitions will be allocated a “Player Points Allocation (PPA)” based on their status 15th September 2026 and the monday following the season each subsequent year.

Every player who has a PPA of above zero will have their PPA recorded on the “Transfers” page of the Competition’s Playcricket website.

Should a club consider that the PPA allocated to a player is incorrect they should notify the Northern Pyramid Player Registration sub-committee at least 5 days in advance of any fixture where the player will participate, explaining why the feel the PPA is incorrect and what they feel the correct PPA should be.

The Registration sub-committee will respond within 72 hours and their decision will be final.

For each season commencing in 2027, a “cap” of 20 Player Points per game will apply to each team in every game in the division 1 &2 of the NPC, the NPCL League Cup and the NPCL T20 Competition

*Northern Pyramid league is defined as a Saturday competition in the Northern Pyramid (NPCL, PS or WCL)

Each player’s points will reduce by one point for each following seasons (as long as they remain at the club) until they reach zero.

A club may register as many players as they wish however can only field a team with a maximum of 20 PPA’s per fixture in the following competitions:

NPCL 1, NPCL 2 NPCL League Cup, NPCLT20

Existing eligibility rules still apply, for example only one Category 3 player may take to the field in any one game.

There is no retrospective application so any category 1 player already registered to a club as of 15 September 2026 will have a zero points tariff.