Match Rules
1.
Each week's match window runs from Monday - Sunday. Matches must be played within the scheduled timeframe. Any matches not completed as scheduled will be considered forfeited by both teams, and zero points will be awarded for those unplayed lines. If the teams cannot mutually agree on a playing time, the default match time is Sunday at 7:00 PM. Points will be awarded to the team lineups that show up on the court at the default time.
2.
Captains are required to publish the next week lineups by Wednesday at 9:00 PM.
3.
Each week, 10 players from each team must play, with 3 players on bench. Each player will belong to one of the Groups: 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5.
3a.
Line Formation Rules
a) Group 1 consists of 2 players.
a.1) Group 1 players can play in L1 or L2.
a.2) To prevent sandbagging, at least one Group 1 player must play weekly, with the highest rank playing L1.
c) Group 2 consists of 3 players. Group 2 players can play in L1, L2, or L3.
d) Group 3 consists of 3 players. Group 3 players can play in L2, L3, or L4.
e) Group 4 consists of 3 players. Group 4 players can play in L3, L4, or L5.
f) Group 5 consists of 2 players. Group 5 players can play in L4 or L5.
f.1) At least one Group 5 player must play L5.
NOTE: At least one G1 and G5 player should play every week.
4.
The home team captain should initiate discussions and court bookings with the visiting team captain once the lineups are shared. It is encouraged to finalize the schedule for all lineups by Wednesday and update it in the Match tracker sheet.
5.
The home captain is responsible for submitting the scores to the CTG EC team before the end of the week.
6.
Team players should collaborate with team captains to resolve any conflicts that may arise.
7.
There is no provision for the replacement of players once the match is started.
8.
Player Group adjustment (Before Tournament Start):
The ECs will consider genuine requests from captains for player replacement, group replacement/adjustments of group assignment (besides the allowed swap rule) before the start of the tournament. Such changes require consent from the player involved and other team captains. Once the tournament begins, there is strictly no provision for player replacement or group adjustment.
9.
Player Replacement (Applies to all)
Once a player is replaced, the original player can not play for remaining matches.
9a.
Player Replacement (During League Games only)
Please consider this as a limited review system in cricket. If you use your replacement option in the early stages of the league and exhaust all 2 options, no further replacements will be granted, even in genuine cases.
For medical emergencies, urgent travel, and extremely genuine cases, the EC will verify with the player and consider replacement, subject to a maximum of 2 permanent replacements.
Any replacement request must be made in the Captains Group. The EC will contact and verify with the players. The EC reserves the right to provide replacements with players of equal or lower rank from within the registered players only. No external players will be called in for replacement.
If original player has not played any matches, then replacement will be treated as original player. So it will not count against permanent count rule.
9b.
Player Replacement (Before Playoffs only; No replacements will be provided after the playoffs start)
"Congratulations on reaching the playoffs! By making it to this stage, you've demonstrated yourself as one of the best. In the playoffs, the ranking of players within a group does not hold value. Please understand that all players in a group are considered equal during this phase."
Rule 1) Only ONE replacement player per team will be provided before playoffs start for Group 1 and Group 5 players only. This is because all other groups consist of three players, which allows for adjustments according to group rules.
Rule 2) A replacement is only allowed before playoffs start if it satisfies all of the below conditions:
- Request is due to medical emergencies, urgent travel, or very genuine circumstances. EC will verify with the player before considering a replacement.
- Request is for Line 1 / Group 1 or Line 5 / Group 5
- Requested when both players of the respective line are not available
Rule 3) If it is not possible to adjust lines by moving players up and down in any case due to an unavailability of other group players, that requested line must be forfeited.
Rule 4) If both players in Line 1 / Group 1 and Line 5 / Group 5 are not available, captains can choose the replacement for one line and other line must be forfeited.
Rule 5) If a replacement is requested, the remaining original Line 1/Line 5 player will play in their own line and cannot move up/down.
Rule 6) Since groups 2, 3 and 4 consists of 3 players; NO replacements will be provided in any situation.
Rule 7) No replacements will be provided after the playoffs are started.
Rule 8) This replacement is allowed even if the team has used 2 replacements in the league stage.
Scenarios in replacements and adjusting players:
• If one L2 player is not available for the playoffs and Group 2 still has 2 eligible players, these players will play Line 2.
• If two L2 players are not available for the playoffs, one player from Group 2 and one player from Group 3 who are still eligible will play Line 2. Other lines with eligible players will continue as scheduled.
• If all three L2 players are unavailable for the playoff (a rare scenario), two players from Line 3 will move up to play Line 2, and Line 3 will be played by one player from Group 3 and one player from Group 4. Group 2, 3, and 4 have provided one extra player for this specific reason, to allow captains flexibility without needing replacements.
• If all three L2 players and one L3 player are unavailable, the captain must forfeit Line 2, but can continue to play the remaining lines.
These rules ensure flexibility while maintaining fairness and adherence to team compositions during playoffs. Players have completed competitive tennis during league games to qualify for the semifinals. Therefore, it is recommended for captains to utilize existing team players for lines 2, 3 and 4.
10.
A 20 minute default rule will be enforced for all games. If one team is not available after 20 minutes from the mutually agreed start time, that team will be considered to have forfeited the game, and the opposing team will be awarded the points.
11.
At the end of each set, there shall be a set break of a maximum of 5 minutes.
12.
No extra time is given to allow a player to recover condition. However, for any treatable medical condition, one 10-minute treatment timeout is allowed.
13.
Player lineups must adhere to the lineup rules specified in the lineup rules section.
14.
All matches are best 2 out of 3 sets. A set is completed when one pair wins 6 games with a margin of at least 2 games. If the set score reaches 6-6, a 7-point tiebreaker with a margin of 2 will be played to determine the winner of that set.
15.
By default, play a complete 3rd set. If all 4 players agree before the start of the game, then a 12-point tiebreaker will be played instead of a full 3rd set.
16.
If a match is not played in the match week, both teams must agree and provide a fixed date for play from the following week. If rain occurs on the play date and it is the last date for that week, the toss will be conducted in the presence of the EC to decide the winner.
17.
There will be no replacement once the lines are published to both teams.
18.
Permanent replacement players will be eligible to participate in the playoffs, provided they have played a minimum of 2 league games. If replacement request came on week 6 or before for permanent replacement then that player has to complete the minimum 2 league games. If permanent replacement request came at game 7, then we understand player can not play 2 games, and as its permanent replacement, he will be eligible to play in playoffs as its permanent replacement.
19.
Teams earn points as listed in the table below:
| Match Outcome |
Points Won |
| Winning team |
1 |
| Losing team with 1 Winning Set |
0 |
| Losing team with 0 Winning Set |
0 |
| Forfeited Matches or matches not completed as per schedule |
0 |
| Team that shows on Default day Sunday evening 7:00 PM |
1 |
