A loophole in the Player loan rules, which was exploited last season, has now been closed tightly shut, with new rules now coming into replace the previous wording of the rules. The revised passages are in italics.

So now Rule 13 will read as such:

  1. PLAYERS There will be registration of players using the England & Wales Cricket Board registration form on the Two Counties Play-Cricket website. All players must be registered on Play-Cricket. Players can only be registered after the 1st August with the permission of the Management Sub-Committee. Players cannot play for more than one Club in the East Anglian Premier League Feeder System (Cambridgeshire & Huntingdon Premier League, Norfolk Cricket Alliance, and the Two Counties Championship, nor be a registered player for any Premier League, and any connected feeder system during a season except with permission from the Management Sub-Committee.EXCEPTIONS
    1) Any player playing for a Club in the Two Counties Saturday divisions (i.e. 1-9) is allowed to play for another Club in the Sunday League and in the Two Counties Ladies competitions.

PLAYER LOAN ARRANGEMENTS

2) Any player under the age of 16 and over 50 as of April 1st of the current season is allowed to play for one other club providing he/she has not played more than eight matches for the parent Club. The club wishing to borrow an eligible player must submit a registration form on the Two Counties Play-Cricket website, but not check the box for a permanent transfer. The parent club will then be asked for permission for the loan to go through, and, also add the agreed length of the loan period. Players taken on loan from one club to another should not play against the parent club, and they can only play for the loaning clubs lowest ranked team, if they have more than one team in the League. Player loans arranged after August 1st, must have had their registration approval confirmed before they can play for the loaning club.

3) Any player aged 17 or 18 as of April 1st of the current season is allowed to play for one other club providing he/she has not played more than four matches for the parent Club. The club wishing to borrow an eligible player must submit a registration form on the Two Counties Play-Cricket website, but not check the box for a permanent transfer. The parent club will then be asked for permission for the loan to go through, and, also add the agreed length of the loan period. Players taken on loan from one club to another should not play against the parent club, and they can only play for the loaning clubs lowest ranked team, if they have more than one team in the League. Player loans arranged after August 1st, must have had their registration approval confirmed before they can play for the loaning club.

b. There may be occasions when a new player represents his club before registration on Play-Cricket has been completed. The registration should be completed within the same time frame as the requirement to post the full scorecard on Play-Cricket (rule 19b). Should that registration still be incomplete seven days after the date of the match then a deduction of 5 points will be levied. Any further delay could result in rule 13c being applied.
As from August 1st, registration must have been granted prior to the player being eligible to play.

PENALTIES

c. Any club adjudged to have fielded an ineligible player shall be penalized by forfeiting any points gained in that match plus a further sixteen points. In addition, the opposing team will automatically be awarded the match and receive 20 points. There will be a right of appeal for both player and club. A deposit of £50 is required to activate an appeal which will be conducted in accordance with the appeals procedure as set out under the ECB regulations for cricket leagues (see ECB regulation 4, further down this document). The player involved may be banned from the Championship for the remainder of the season.

An ineligible player is one who is not registered on Play-Cricket for the club he/she was playing, or deemed to be ineligible by the Management Sub-Committee.