Overview of Junior Cricket Grades

Come along and join the fun and excitement of playing cricket at North City Cricket Club. We cater for all ages from Year 0 to Year 8 for both boys and girls.  The emphasis is on fun and skill development and we welcome junior players of all skill levels and ability. 

All players are graded according to the school year group they are in at the time of the September Registration. Players must play in the grade that corresponds with their school year. While the club makes all efforts to keep players with their friends or in the team they have played in previously, this is dependent on the number of players that register in each grade.  The Club must also consider the provision of parent volunteers, who are needed as coaches, umpires, scorers and managers for each team.

Year 0/Year 1 (SmashPlay)

School new entrants play in our SmashPlay grade. This is a fun introduction to cricket and children learn the basics of batting, bowling and fielding. Superstarters is not a team based cricket game, instead it concentrates on skill development. At the end of each session children will enjoy a dual pitch type game. The idea is for younger children to learn basic cricketing skills and to have fun without spending time standing around getting bored. Our Superstarter Cricket takes place at Linden Park on Sunday mornings. The registration fee for the SmashPlay grade is $50.

Year 2 & 3 (Soft Ball, Dual Pitch)

Year 2 & 3 children play 8 a side cricket in a dual pitch format game on Saturday morning against another cricket club in Wellington. Dual pitch is where two pitches are used and both teams bat and bowl at the same time so all kids are involved and there is no down time.

Bowling 

Each team bowls a maximum of 16 overs (6 ball overs). All 8 players must have a minimum of 2 overs. No extra deliveries are bowled to make up for extras.

Batting

The pairs batting format is used for Year 2 and 3, players will bat in pairs for a maximum of 4 overs each. When a batter gets out they are not dismissed instead they change ends and 2 runs are subtracted from their team’s total.

The game is estimated to last 1 hour.

The Year 2 pitch is 12m and the Year 3 pitch is 14m. A game is estimated to last one hour to complete.The registration fee for the Year 2 & 3 grade is $100.00.

Year 4 (Soft Ball)

Year 4 children play in a team of 8 players against other cricket clubs in Wellington each Saturday morning in the Year 4 competition. Cricket is played with a soft cricket ball.

Bowling 

Each team bowls a maximum of 16 overs (6 ball overs).All 8 players must have a minimum of 2 overs and a maximum of 3 overs.

No balls are added to the batter’s ball count – No extra deliveries are to be bowled to make up for extras.

Batting

The pairs batting format is used for Year 4, players will bat in pairs for a maximum of 4 overs each. When a batter gets out they are not dismissed instead they change ends and 3 runs are subtracted from their team’s total.

The length of the pitch for Year 4 is 14m.

The game is estimated to last 2 hours.

The registration fee for the Year 4 grade is $100.00.

Year 5 (Hard Ball)

Year 5 children play for the Club each Saturday morning in a team of 8 players against another Wellington club. The Year 5 competition is a 20 over format. This is the first year of hard ball cricket.

Bowling 

Each team bowls a maximum of 20 overs. All 8 players must have a minimum of 2 overs and a maximum of 3 overs.

All overs are 6 ball overs with a maximum of 8 balls if extras are required to be bowled.

Batting

The pairs batting format is used for Year 5, players will bat in pairs for 5 overs each. When a batter gets out they are not dismissed instead they change ends and 3 runs are subtracted from their team’s total.

The length of the pitch for Year 5 is 16m.

The game is estimated to last 2 hours to complete.

The registration fee for the Year 5 grade is $100.00.

Year 6 (Hard Ball)

Year 6 children play in a teams of 8 players against another Wellington club on a Saturday morning. The Year 6 competition is a 20 over format. This is the second year of hard ball cricket.

Bowling 

Each team bowls a maximum of 20 overs, all overs are 6 ball overs with a maximum of 8 balls if extras are required to be bowled. All 8 players must have a minimum of 2 overs and a maximum of 3 overs.

Batting

The pairs batting format is used for Year 6, players will bat in pairs for 5 overs each. When a batter gets out they are not dismissed instead they change ends and 3 runs are subtracted from their team’s total.

The length of the pitch for Year 6 is 16m.

The game is estimated to last 2 to 3 hours to complete.

The registration fee for the Year 6 grade is $100.00.

Year 7 (Hard Ball)

Year 7 teams are 9 per side playing 30 over games on a Saturday morning.

Bowling 

Each team bowls a maximum of 30 overs.

Bowling takes place in 5 over chunks from one end and then swapped for the next 5 overs to the other end.

There is a maximum of 5 overs per bowler.

All overs are 6 ball overs with a maximum of 8 balls if extras are required to be bowled.

Batting

Batters must face a minimum of 6 balls (after 6 balls all dismissals apply)

All balls, including wides and no balls are added into the batters ball count.

If a player gets out in the first 6 balls they face they do not get dismissed instead the batter changes ends and 4 runs is deducted from the team total.

Batters must retire once they have faced 30 balls.

The length of the pitch is 18m.

The game is estimated to last 3 to 4 hours.

The registration fee for the Year 7 grade is $100.00

Year 8 (Hard Ball)

Year 8 teams are 9 per side playing 30 over games on a Saturday.
​​​​​​​The Year 8 competition runs to mid December (A half season).

Bowling 

Each team bowls a maximum of 30 overs.

Bowling takes place in 5 over chunks from one end and then swapped for the next 5 overs to the other end.

There is a maximum of 5 overs per bowler.

All overs are 6 ball overs with a maximum of 8 balls if extras are required to be bowled.

Batting

Batters must face a minimum of 6 balls (after 6 balls all dismissals apply)

All balls, including wides and no balls are added into the batters ball count.

If a player gets out in the first 6 balls they face they do not get dismissed instead the batter changes ends and 5 runs is deducted from the team total.

Batters must retire once they have faced 30 balls.

The length of the pitch is 18m.

The game is estimated to last 3 to 4 hours.

The registration fee for the Year 8 grade is $50.