1. Payment of Pitches. The Aberdeen Evening Cricket League (AECL) procedure for the payment of pitches has been revised for season 2008 following consultation with Aberdeen City Council.  The League will no longer identify a ‘Home Team’ responsible for paying the full pitch fee directly to Aberdeen City Council. Each team will be responsible for paying 50% of the pitch fee directly to Aberdeen City Council prior to the match. All pitches (including Sheddocksley) are covered by the new procedure.

     Advantages of Revised Procedure

• No money requires to be exchanged between teams on the evening of each match. 
• No requirement to visit the Beach Leisure Centre to pay pitch fees.
• No requirement to make a payment at Sheddocksley on the night.
• Greater visibility within Aberdeen City Council due to the payment being made directly to the Bookings Officer (Booking Officer no longer resides at the Beach Leisure Centre). The revised procedure is easily auditable. The Bookings officer will hold records of all funds received from each team, as well as have access to all matches played.

New Payment Procedure

•  Each team is responsible for paying 50% of the pitch fee to Aberdeen City Council prior to the match (for season 2008, this is £8.60 per match per team).
• It is the responsibility of each team to remain ‘in credit’ with Aberdeen City Council during the course of the season. The AECL Secretary shall be notified should any team fall behind in the payment of pitches.
• Payment will be by cheque only (no cash payments). Teams should consider paying for pitches in advance (e.g. in blocks of four) to avoid the need to write /send multiple cheques.
• Cheques to be made payable to 'Aberdeen City Council' (with the name of your club on the back) and sent to: Bookings Officer, Balgownie 1, Lower Ground Floor, A.E.C.C. Conference Way, Aberdeen AB23 8AQ
• Any match that is cancelled due to bad weather, a credit will be granted by Aberdeen City Council and carried forward to the next match. Contact the Bookings Officer directly if in doubt as to the number of credits remaining.

2. Start-time.  Please ensure you are ready to play at 6.30p.m. prompt.  During May the light will deteriorate very quickly towards 9.00p.m, so please be punctual.

3. Results.  The Secretary should have the results no later than Wednesday 5.00p.m in order to update the website.  The Secretary’s details are included on the contact sheet (preference is by e-mail to John.Mackenzie@shell.com).  You should give the runs scored and the number of wickets fallen (not including retired batsman) of both teams.  The Secretary must also be notified if the game does not take place. The winning side reports the result.

4. Cancelling pitches.  Pitches can be cancelled through Aberdeen City Council by contacting the Bookings Clerk on 814777.  Please note that if a match is cancelled within the 48 hour cancellation period, the Council may insist on payment.

5. Venues.  Three matches will take place at Duthie Park, one match at the Links and two at Sheddocksley (only one pitch is currently available at the Links). Pitch numbers have been assigned for each match at Duthie Park in an attempt to rotate the pitches.  Pitches are assigned as DP1, DP2 & DP3. DP2 is nearest what was the public toilets.  DP3 is nearest the river.  Links 4 is the central pitch at the Links; Links 5 the smaller pitch closest to the driving range. Sheddocksley 2 is the pitch nearest the changing rooms. Every effort has been made to ensure no team finds themselves at Sheddocksley every Tuesday!

6. It’s a Horsey Opera at Duthie Park.  To date I’m not aware of any ‘alternative’ attractions currently booked at Duthie Park on a Tuesday evening. I will advise if there are any revisions to the fixtures.

7. Insurance.  Clubs participating in the Aberdeen Evening Cricket League do so absolutely at their own risk.  The AECL cannot accept any responsibility for any loss, damage or injury caused by participation in the league.  Clubs may wish to take out insurance to cover them for any losses.

8. Oxy Cup.  The draw for the cup will take place later in the season.  Club secretaries will be informed of the draw in due course.  The cup competition will be straight knockout and will require one preliminary round. As in previous years, the final will be played at Mannofield (provisional date 12th August).

9.  AGM minutes.  Will be forwarded shortly.

10. Abandoned or postponed matches.  Any match that has been postponed (see Rule 4) must be played before Tuesday 5th August (inclusive) otherwise it will be treated as an abandoned match for the purposes of calculating the final league table.  Both captains must be in agreement to reschedule the match. Club secretaries are responsible for making the arrangements for postponed matches.  Please inform the Secretary of any match that is postponed or abandoned. Please note that there are no spare weeks built into the fixtures this year due to the number of league / cup matches.

11. Subscriptions.  The fee remains at £5 to cover the expenses of the league (engraving, trophies etc). Some clubs still owe monies from last year and I will collect all during the course of the season. All the best for the coming season, John MacKenzie (Secretary /Treasurer) (01224) 818987 - Work ; (01467) 621759 - Home;  07922036951 - Mobile.