Led by a team of volunteers, Richmond Cricket Club operates upwards of 500 fixtures per season. The games span across 5 x Adult teams, a development League team (MDL), 2 x Adult Women’s teams, Adult friendly and Midweek sides, plus Junior Boys and Girls teams, ranging from U10’s through to U19’s, sometimes with more than 1 team per age group.

With 2 cricket grounds that the club have exclusive use of (Old Deer Park & The Newman Ground, aka. Christ's, it is inevitable that fixture clashes happen. In order to ensure all fixture obligations are met, this policy exists to give transparency to the decision making process that the Cricket Section Committee go through, when allocating grounds to fixtures, ahead of each season.

Sundays are the most difficult days to administer, with 1st team cup games, MDL, Adult friendlies, Women’s league games and the lion share of Junior games all being played on various Sunday’s throughout the season.

Ground Allocation Priority Policy:
Priority Team
1 Adult 1s Xl Cup
2 MDL
3 Women’s 1st Xl
4 Adult Friendlies
5 W2’s
6 Age Groups – Oldest to Youngest

Additional Information:
• The above Table is the Primary Policy that is applied when allocating grounds.
• The ‘Principles’ laid out below are considered should exceptions to the Primary Policy come into play.
• If you have any questions on ground allocation please contact your Cricket Section head.
• We ask all members to appreciate that grounds allocation is done on a best endeavors basis, by volunteers, with no bias and with the wellbeing of Richmond Cricket Club at heart.

Ground Allocation Guiding Principles:
• Adult matches take priority over junior matches.
• Adult league matches are played on a Saturday. Neither Old Deer Park, nor Christ’s, are available for any other fixture on Saturdays.
• Competition rules/regulations/constitutions will influence decision making, and the committee will work to ensure every allocation meets rule/regulation/constitutional requirements.
• Junior priority starts with the oldest age group 1st and then flows down to the youngest age group. Therefore, as members journey through the age groups, they will be rewarded with more access to primary facilities.
• Gender is not a consideration when making decisions.
• Pitch quality v’s the standard and age of players is taken into consideration.
• The Cricket Committee will endeavor to ensure all players get the opportunity to play on the main ground.
• Sunday mornings at Old Deer Park is dedicated to Mini’s training. Games are not permitted whilst training is on, with the exception of some “Pitch 2” games, if no alternative is available.
• Match importance will be considered, in particular, as Junior age groups progress to latter stages of a cup competitions and leagues reach their conclusion.
• The use of Old Deer Park and Christ’s will always be prioritized over costly 3rd party facilities.
• Cricket pitches take a lot of preparation, therefore, the committee have to ensure that not only do Groundsmen have the necessary access to prepare wickets, but also, that the long and short term integrity of the Square isn’t compromised by overuse.
• 3rd party commercial use of Old Deer Park will be considered e.g. Middlesex CCC or Corporate Matches. Decisions on whether we host these matches, will take into account all factors listed above.