Rules
How to decide washouts, revise targets, and keep standings fair when weather interrupts your cup.
By CricMatch Editorial · Updated 2026-08-17 · ~582 words
Local tournaments rarely have full Duckworth–Lewis–Stern infrastructure, but they still need a written rain policy. Without one, the loudest captain wins the argument while others lose trust in the competition.
Decide the minimum overs each side must face for a match to count (for example five overs in a T10, or eight in a T20). Below that, use no-result points. Above that, apply your chosen target revision method.
Some leagues use average run rate: target = (first innings run rate × available overs) + 1. Others use pre-agreed DLS apps or printed calculators when umpires are trained. Pick one method and train scorers before monsoon fixtures.
Record the revised overs and target in the scoring system immediately so the live page does not show a stale full-innings target.
If the venue allows, keep a reserve window for finals. For league games, publish how abandoned matches affect NRR. Consistency matters more than perfection.
Full Duckworth-Lewis-Stern needs software and training. Many amateur cups instead use: equal overs a side, or a simple run-rate target, or “if we cannot start by 4pm we abandon.” The best method is the one both captains understood on Thursday. The worst is a new formula invented while covers are coming on.
Write the cut-off times: latest start, minimum overs to constitute a match, and how points are split on abandonment. Put it on the tournament page.
New overs total, new bowling cap, and a new target if the first innings is finished. Announce all three together. Fans should see the new quota on the live page so “overs left” is not still counting toward 20 when you are now playing 14.
Do not quietly edit balls already bowled. Reduced overs change the future of the innings, not the past.
First innings finished 148/6 in 20. Rain takes 40 minutes. You still have time for 14 overs in the chase. Target method A (simple): 148 × (14/20) plus one, if that is what you published — many cups reject this because it is crude. Method B: a pre-agreed run-rate table. Method C: DLS if someone on site can operate it and both captains trained on Thursday.
Bowling cap must drop. If you leave a four-over cap in a 14-over chase, one bowler can take a huge share. Recalculate in the same huddle as the target.
Update the live status with the new overs and target before the first ball of the restart. Fans should not infer rain math from a frozen 20-over widget.
Do not let one captain calculate on a phone while the other watches Instagram. Calculate together, write the three numbers (overs, cap, target), then walk to the scorer.
Do not restart “for a few overs to see” without a constituted-match rule. That is how you play 9 overs, get rained off again, and argue about points until Wednesday.
If you abandon, mark the match no-result on the public page the same hour. A live status that says LIVE during a washed-out afternoon is how fans lose trust.