What safeguarding rules apply when a junior plays in an adult team?

Question

Accepted Answer

The ECB Recreational Cricket Safety Regulations allow juniors into open age cricket from age 12 (11 only in exceptional, approved cases), and only with written parental consent (the ECB provides a template consent form in the Safe Hands Kit Bag).

Before picking a junior for an adult team, the club must consider, among other things:

that it is a positive step for the player's development, not a way to make up numbers;
that the player won't face unreasonable physical or emotional risk;
that the club can follow Safe Hands: a plan or suitable facilities so the junior is not required to change or shower alongside adults, and thought given to social media groups and transport to and from cricket;
that appropriately DBS-checked adults will supervise the junior.

The captain must also tell the umpires about any juniors in the team, and the junior's own age-based fast bowling, fielding distance and helmet rules still apply.