ANN ADDS TO ONLINE DEBATE

By Ann Boulton

Having used the play-cricket system in the ECB Premier League since it was first introduced some eight years ago, I can assure Matt that it is fit for purpose, so long as one person is responsible for keeping an overall eye on things.
It is a registration system, it is a result recording system and it is a stats system as well as being a good way of getting league messages out to interested people via the news on the front page that everyone can access.

Registration
If the Lincs League adopts the full registration process then all players have to be properly registered with date of birth, address and postcode. This has the added benefit that ages of junior players can be checked very easily.
All ECB and South Lincs & Border clubs are told that, if registrations are done on line, then it is their responsibility to ensure that the player has read the Code of Conduct and Spirit of Cricket and abides by them.
There is still the facility for clubs to use a paper form (which includes the Code of Conduct) and send it to me to register the player, but very few do this.
When the South Lincs & Border League changed to electronic recording there were some reservations from a couple of people with sensitive jobs about their addresses being on the site, even though they can only be viewed by the accredited administrator. We got round this by allowing them to be registered c/o their club with its address and postcode.
Very few clubs use the team selection facility – this is not compulsory so there is no need for Cherry to reveal who is playing prior to the match! However, it does mean that when the administrator enters the scorecard after the match, all the players already registered come up automatically and it throws up any that aren’t registered so that can be rectified.
Finally, if the player is registered on the Lincs League play-cricket site, he is automatically registered with the Lincs League - play-cricket is merely the vehicle for doing this, not a player registration system in its own right.
As a league main administrator, I can check on any player at any club in the ECB Premier League with three clicks of the mouse. A club main administrator can do the same but only for his/her club not for the whole league.

Results
Clubs need to take responsibility for entering their own scoresheets (preferably the home club) as it is a big task for one person, unless they can devote themselves to it full-time.
Whoever puts them on will have access to the names of players registered for both teams, although not personal details.
As Matt says, the benefits are substantial - the site automatically calculates statistics so these can be accessed by anyone at any time (not just clubs and players) via the link on the home page. This definitely generates a lot of interest in the league.
However, scoresheets do then need to be submitted and checked and the South Lincs & Border League has a nominated person for each division to whom they are sent. This means that he/she checks a maximum of six scoresheets each week which is not too arduous. Any discrepancies are immediately sorted out with the clubs and the scoresheet is then locked down, preventing any alterations.

General
If it is of any assistance, I have an instruction sheet on registering players that the SLBL used when the change was being made. Also the same for entering results.
Almost all clubs have someone within their ranks who is pretty computer literate and is willing to take on administration of their site.
If the club already has its own site, this can be linked in to play-cricket and information (results, stats etc) automatically appear on both. Anyone going on to play-cricket will find a link to the club site.
I am sure a demonstration could be set up in the right venue but it is probably better done individually by trial and error! While not having the time to get fully involved, I would be more than happy to help any club that found a problem.
We all had our doubts about play-cricket at the beginning and there were initial problems but after eight years it is pretty well bedded down and if there are any glitches, the help desk is really good and very efficient at sorting out difficulties.
From a personal point of view, I really hope that Lincs League clubs will go over to the electronic system.
The league is one of the top three in the county and is also the largest so it is a shame that interested people can’t access full results, stats and news as they can from the ECB Premier League and the SLBL, who have visitors to their sites from all over the world.