Oxford Downs Cricket Club (ODCC) Selection Policy May 2025

Ethos

At ODCC, we are committed to putting the fair treatment of our playing members at the very forefront of what we do, regardless of age, ability, gender, race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexuality, or social/economic status.

The spirit of cricket is at the core of how our league sides play the game and all players must respect the values of cricket and behave appropriately. Every player must adhere to the club’s code of conduct & safeguarding policies. To be considered for selection, each player must be a fully paid-up member and have paid their match fees each week via our payment platform i.e. Spond.

We are one club and whilst playing for ODCC we would expect the wearing of Club kit.

Selection Criteria
Saturday:

Saturday league selection is based on cricketing ability.

Form and performance will be very much considered, along with general commitment levels to training and the club generally.

For Saturday league matches in the lower order teams, where there are a greater number of players available than spaces available, selection will be based on a combination of the following:

* Team balance: The needs of the team in terms of batting, bowling, fielding, and leadership roles
⁠⁠* A player’s positive attitude towards the club, opposition, coaches, and other players.

Sunday Selection:

As well as the above criteria the Sunday captain will generally seek to select a team that contains a combination of players who do not play Saturday Cricket, a mixture of players from all of the teams and junior players ( from age 13 onwards) to achieve a balanced team having regard to the relative strength of the opposition team in any particular week.

Women’s selection:

Selection will be made after training on a Monday by relevant coaches and the captain. Phone calls will be made if people are dropped or conversations at the end of training. Availability will be asked a week in advance or more. Selection for the league team will be based on:

– Commitment and behaviour at training

– ⁠Ability

– ⁠Availability throughout the season

– ⁠Commitment to the club

The development team will be inclusive to everyone, with everyone getting games where available.

Junior Selection (u15 and below)

Junior selection is based on inclusivity, not on ability. We aim to give all children the same opportunity to play and enjoy cricket matches throughout the season.

Procedure

Junior selection

It will be dealt with by the relevant age group manager through Spond.

Senior Selection:

General availability – Please advise your captains of any days that you know you are unavailable in advance, as this will aid selection. A poll on Spond will be used to gauge the player’s availability at the start of the season, An availability chart may also be sent to you for completion. We understand that availability can change but please do try and give as much notice as possible of any changes.

You will be asked each week after your game your availability for the following week. This does not necessarily guarantee selection or guarantee you will be on the same side, but will help with Monday night selection. The selection committee will meet every Monday evening and this committee comprises the 4 captains with the Head of Cricket chairing the meeting.

Communication:

We will aim to announce the teams around Tuesday lunchtime so that players know which team to train with on the Tuesday evening.

When a player is selected to play in a team in a lower division than the previous week, they will receive a phone call from the captain to explain the reasons why. If this call is not answered then a text will be sent explaining the reasons why as this will aid the smooth running of the club to enable the announcement of the teams in a timely manner each week.

Each side will only be released once the captain has made any such phone calls or texts.

The teams are announced in order, starting with the 1st team, with our aim to have the 4th team announced on the same day, however, this may be delayed until later in the week in the event of any availability issues.

If any player has any concerns or feels that they are not being treated fairly, we ask that in the first instance, they approach the captain discreetly to discuss. If the player does not feel comfortable doing so, or does not feel satisfied with the result of that conversation then please do raise any such concerns with the Head of Cricket.