Wimbledon CC – Adult Cricket Selection Policy

Wimbledon Cricket Club (WCC) is one of the leading cricket clubs in Surrey.

WCC runs five open-age Saturday teams and an open-age Sunday team. The first team play in the
Surrey Championship - Premier Division and the remaining Saturday teams play in the various
divisions within the Surrey Championship.

The objectives of this selection policy are:

1) To outline the performance (short term) and long term objectives for WCC and each adult
team;

2) To articulate the criteria for selection of the individual teams. These are based on the
objectives below;

3) To identify the members of the Selection Committee and the process for making weekly team
selections;

4) To outline the club’s approach to decisions on batting and bowling orders.

1) Objectives

The overall playing objective of the club is to consolidate its position long term as one of the top 10
clubs in the country. In order to achieve this, all adult sides should be playing as high a level of cricket
as possible and providing promising Academy players (U17-U21) and Young players (U13-U15) with
the experience they need to form the backbone of future first teams.

Each team has its own performance (or short-term) and long-term objectives. These objectives will
inform selection decisions.

The performance objectives will be used by the Selection Committee to measure the success of any
given season and will be refreshed each year. The long-term objectives are designed to ensure the
club develops in a sustainable way.

The objectives for each team are as follows.

First team:
Captain – Oliver Swann
Performance objectives:
 To win the Surrey Championship – Premier Division
 To win the national T20 or 40 over competition;
 To win the Surrey T20 competition.

Long-term objective:
 To consolidate its current position as one of the top club teams in the country. Achievement of
this objective will manifest itself by:
a) reaching the final of the national T20 or 40 over finals at least once every three years
b) winning the Surrey Championship – Premier Division at least once every 5 years

Second team:

Captain - David Wills

Performance objectives:
  To win the Surrey Championship – Premier Division 2ndXI;
 To generate a pipeline of players who are willing and capable of performing well at first team
level.

Long-term objectives:
 To consistently achieve top 3 finishes in Surrey Championship – Premier Division 2ndXI;
 To familiarise promising Academy players with the culture, values and standards required in
order to progress to first team level.

Third team:

Captain - Adam Slater

Performance objective:
 To win the Surrey Championship – Premier Division 3rdXI;

Long-term objective:
 To provide enjoyable competitive cricket at a reasonable standard for ambitious Academy
players under the supervision of experienced players.

Fourth team:

Captain – Arthur Crocker

Performance objective:
 To finish in the top 2 of the Surrey Championship – Division 3 East.

Long-term objective:
 To provide an enjoyable initial introduction to Academy and Young players to adult cricket
under the supervision of experienced team mates.
 To develop and improve the skills of all players with the view to progress through the adult
sides within the club.

Fifth Team:

Captain - Tim Ash-Vie

Performance objectives:
 To finish in the top half of the Surrey Championship – Division 5 East as a minimum.

Long-term objectives:
 To provide an enjoyable platform for Young and experienced players of all levels. The
emphasis will be on promoting opportunities for the Young players to play in adult cricket and to
move up in to more senior teams

Sunday team:

Performance objective:
 To provide an environment where both experienced and Academy players alike are able to
work on new cricketing skills, techniques and methods in a live match situation.

Long-term objective:
 To provide an enjoyable platform for both young and experienced players of all levels. The
emphasis will be on promoting opportunities for the Academy players.
2) Team selection criteria

First team:
The first team will be selected with the purpose of winning the next match. The personnel needs of the
first team will always take priority over those of other teams.
Factors that will be included in the selection decisions will include form, attitude, fielding ability, team
balance and nature of the opposition.

Second team:
Selection for the second team will involve the twin aims of winning sufficient games to achieve a top 3
finish and developing a pipeline of players capable of contributing at first team level both in the short
and long term.
Factors that will be included in selection decisions will include form, attitude, fielding ability, team
balance and nature of the opposition.

Third team:
The third team will be selected to ensure a healthy mix of talented Academy players and more
experienced players takes the field.
The mix of youth and experience in any given game may alter according to the circumstances of the
season and the need to win matches.

Fourth team:
The fourth team will be chosen with an eye to the future and ensuring Academy and young players
obtain valuable experience in adult cricket.
A core of experienced players will always be selected to ensure guidance and leadership is available.

Fifth team:
The fifth team will be picked to provide an enjoyable platform for both experienced cricketers and
young players transitioning into adult cricket.

Sunday team:
The Sunday team will be picked to ensure there is a healthy balance of senior and junior.

General selection criteria:

Other factors that will contribute to selection decisions include:

 Attendance at Tuesday evening training sessions;

 Consistency of availability;
 Punctuality on match days;
 Adherence to team ethic;
 Attitude both on and off the pitch;
 Conduct both on and off the pitch;
 Payment of subscriptions and match fees.

In the interests of giving Academy players valuable game time, senior third and fourth team players
may be asked to take a flexible attitude to selection depending on the time of year. In the first half of
the summer when schoolboys are not available, senior players may be asked to make themselves
available frequently. On the other hand they may be asked to step down voluntarily later in the season
when the school holidays have begun.

In the event that an individual does not wish to be considered for promotion to a higher level, for
whatever reason, they should make this clear to the Selection Committee at the earliest possible
opportunity.
3) The formal Selection Committee, appointed by the Cricket Club’s Committee consists of:
Jonathan Speller
Oliver Swann
David Wills
Adam Slater
Arthur Crocker
Tim Ash-Vie
Robbie Gunn

The Selection Committee will make their selection decision and inform members of this in reasonable
time before a weekend match. The final decision on selection resides with the relevant captain for
each team. Captains are expected to communicate verbally (and not by text) with any player who has
been dropped into a lower team.
In order to aid the Committee with their decisions, all players are asked to complete and update
Spond as early as possible of any non-availabilities during the course of the season.

4) Batting and bowling orders

Batting and bowling orders are decided at the sole discretion of captains.
There is sometimes a balance to be struck between the clearly defined performance objectives of
each team and the need to develop younger players by exposing them to higher levels of
responsibility.
In the first and second team, where the stakes are higher, the requirement to win will take precedence
over the wider and long-term objectives of promoting young players in the event that each objective is
mutually exclusive. However, the club is proud of its history of developing its Academy players and
captains will be encouraged to promote them and give them opportunities when they feel these
players are ready to contribute to a winning team.
Third, fourth and fifth team captains will attempt to ensure all players are given opportunities to show
what they can do over the course of the season. This principle will apply especially to those players
who have shown a good all-round attitude. However the captains’ ability to do this will sometimes
depend on their team’s league position.
In any event, if players do not bat or bowl in their usual position in a given match they should accept
this for the greater good of the team. If they feel they have been treated unfairly over a longer period
they should address this discretely with their captain or the WCC Director of Cricket. In the event they
feel their concerns have not been listened to, they should discretely approach the Chairman of the
Cricket Club.