There will be no changes at the top of the Pembroke County Cricket club next season as all of the current leading officers will remain in post after the annual general meeting of the County club on Wednesday, February 25, at Haverfordwest Cricket Club.
These include county secretary Bill Marchant, who has agreed to stay in post for another year as no other nominations had been received for the post.
Once again, bonus points for drawn matches will come under the microscope as Cresselly Cricket Club has come up with a proposed rule change which will make it more difficult for teams to pick up bonus points on the cheap. In other words, if the proposal is accepted teams will have to play better to maximise the total number of points received for drawn matches, which are often very exciting affairs.
Under the proposal, the team batting second would have to reach a total within 20 runs (as opposed to the existing 30 runs) of the team batting first to obtain the maximum of five batting bonus points. The total would also be reduced by 10 runs at each of the other four stages so that the team chasing the runs target would have to get within 60 runs (instead of the existing 70 runs) of the team batting first to claim the first bonus point.
A similar change has been suggested for the award of batting bonus points so that a team would have to score 80 runs before getting the first bonus point, whereas under existing rules the first bonus point is awarded after scored 30 runs and the second after scoring 60 runs.
Currently, the maximum of five bonus batting points is reached after scoring 150 runs but if the rule change is applied under the new rule the maximum would be reached after scoring 160 runs.
After the first target of 80 runs is reached, one point would be award for every 20 runs scored subsequently up to the maximum of five.
Many attempts have been made in recent years to get the current rules amended, but clubs often take a conservative approach by taking into account their own interests rather than the interests of Pembrokeshire league cricket as a whole.
It will be interesting to see if the efforts of defending Division One champions bear more fruit.