The Cheshire Cricket League

Well, for once there were no Rule Changes to the Points System at teh 2009 AGM, so it's as you were. New Readers, start here!
Right, here's the lowdown on the Rule changes for 2009 and how they affect the points scoring, plus an overview of the Points System in general.

Wins
This is the easy bit. If you bat first & win, you get 25 points, full stop, no Bonus points. Since 2008, if you lose the toss and are forced to bat second, you still get 25 pts if you win. But if you win the toss and choose to bat second and win, you get 20 points, again no Bonus points.
Tie
Remembering that, as in normal Cricket Rules, we only consider a match to be tied if the side batting second are All Out, both sides get 18 points, once again with no Bonus points.
Draws
Now it gets trickier.
We no longer have the concept of Winning or Losing Draw. Unless the scores are level, then both sides get two points for the Draw plus Bonus points (see below).
Now the really tricky bit.
In the case of a level-scores draw where the side batting second is *not* All Out, then the side batting second gets 18 points, while the side who batted first get the normal 2 Draw points plus Bonus Points.
Bonus Points
The side batting first now get double Batting Points and are still earned at 110, 125, 140, 155, 170. Bowling Points still earned at 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 wickets.
Abandoned
New for 2009, we have scrapped any concept of time limits. Now, An abandoned match is one in which no play is possible or one in which play is finally suspended before a positive result is achieved and before the completion of the allocated number of overs. Both sides get 7 pts or bonus Points earned plus (also new for 2009) 2 Draw pts each, whichever is the greater.

Delayed start/Interruptions
Many changes/simplifications in this area for 2009!
We start with a maximum of 90 overs for the match, max 45 to the side batting first (Team A), who can Declare at any time after 25 overs. If the start is delayed, the total overs is reduced by 2, and the max allocation for Team A reduced by 1 for every complete 7 mins lost. For example, the scheduled start is 1:30pm & play gets under way at about 3:10, thus 14 lots of 7 mins have been lost reducing the total overs to 62 with a max of 31 for Team A. An addition to Rule 14 for 2009 clarifies the fact that the maximum number of overs which can be lost by this method are 40, i.e. the side batting first is entitled to receive a mimimum of 25 overs (natural dismissals excepted). Thus the latest start time is 20*7 = 2hrs 20mins (plus 30mins for early tea), giving 2hrs 50mins after scheduled start, e.g. 4:20 if a 1:30 scheduled start.
If there are interruptions during either innings, the first aggregated 15minutes of stoppage time are discounted. Thereafter the total number of overs is reduced by 1 for each 3.5 mins lost, but Team A can still take their start allocation.
To continue our example match, 30 mins are lost during the first innings. The first 15mins are ignored, then the total number of overs in the match is reduced by 4 (15/3.5 = 4 and a bit) to 58, but Team A can still bat for 31, leaving 27 for Team B.

From 2009, the concept of a time limit to the match is scrapped. This simplifies things a lot!
If there are Interruptions during or a delayed start to Team B's innings, then the number of overs in the match is reduced by 1 for each complete 3.5 mins lost. Continuing our example, a further 25mins are lost during Team B's innings, reducing the number of overs in the match by 7 (25/3.5 = 7 and a bit) to 51. If Team A did actually bat for their allocated 31 overs, that leaves just 20 for Team B!! Under the Rules, there is no minimum entitlement of overs for Team B. There is no limit to the number of overs which can be lost by this method, other than when the calculation reduces the number of overs in the match to equal the number already bowled or the match would be reduced to less than 25 overs in total, i.e. no more overs can be bowled.
If play is subsequently finally suspended before the re-calculated overs limit (51) is reached, then the match counts as Abandoned. Otherwise, at the end of play, if neither side has won & it's not a Tie (or scores level), then it is an ordianry Draw. Remember that both sides now get two points for both draws and Abandoned matches.

And that's all there is to it!

There are a few curiosities/anomalies with the Points system.
For example, the side batting second can *gain* 2 points by hanging on for a Draw, while the last wicket could be worth up to 18 extra points to the opposition. So it can be seen that there is now more incentive for the side batting second to stitch it!
The level-scores Draw is a real curio. Consider a low-scoring match (possibly reduced to 25 overs a side by a delayed start), where Team A scores 109-0 and Team B manages to scrape to 109-9 off their overs. Under a previous Points system, both teams would have got 5 pts for the Draw (assuming Team B faced at least as many overs as Team A), so Team A would have got 10 pts to Team B's 5 pts. Under the new Points system, Team A will get 7 pts (5 Bowling plus 2 Draw) while Team B will get 18 Pts!!!
Wow! Bit of a difference there!
Now that there are no more winning Draws, there is much less incentive for Team A to Declare at halfway where Rain has interrupted the 1st innings. It is probably now better to carry on batting to get as many batting pts (doubled!) as possible. As stated above, there is no requirement for the team batting second to receive any overs at all!