What is the lightning procedure?

The CGL Lightning Policy (revised 1 September 2025) requires zero tolerance towards lightning, whatever the state of the match. If no official umpires are present, the captains apply it.

Before and during play: watch the weather (building, darkening cloud, distant rumbles, flashes). Check what lightning detection system (LDS) the venue has, and agree its procedures with the ground authority or home club. The approved app is Lightning Alarm. Because electronic devices can't be taken onto the field, the scorers and team managers or coaches must watch the app and warn you.

Suspend play immediately (or don't start or resume) when you:

• see a lightning strike
• hear thunder overhead, or
• are told the LDS shows lightning closer than 20 km.

Everyone must leave the field at once for a safe place (a brick or concrete building), and spectators must be told too. Nobody can be expected to cover the pitch, but covers can go on under your direction if the call was early enough to do it safely.

Resuming: wait until there has been no lightning within 20 km for a continuous 30 minutes, then reassess. If a fixed LDS shows the storm has moved beyond 20 km and keeps moving away, you may resume when you both agree it's safe.

LDS systems can fail, so use them together with what you see and hear. If a venue's fixed system seems inadequate, visual and audible signs take precedence.