The selectors would like some help.

In previous years selection had its own problems. At first it was the eight or nine people down as Yes plus whoever you could drag along at the last minute. More recently it has been a juggling act of getting a strong team and making sure there was some fairness in rotation of who was dropped.

Now, with Saturday and Sunday games, the job has become more difficult and so there are going to be a few changes which we hope you can take onboard. This will give you the best chance of playing the amount of cricket you want while allowing the club to run on smoothly.

From now on we will try to ensure that the Saturday team is selected and e mails and texts go out on Wednesday evening after practice. The target is 9pm but that's not always going to be possible. Sunday team selection will go out on Thursday once we have confirmation that Saturday is all good.

To achieve this we need to use the availability options more fully and you need to pay attention to this. Otherwise you could miss out when you want to play, or worse still, drop the club in it when you can't.

There are 5 options in availability; Yes, Probably, Possibly, No, and Unknown. Any changes after 6pm on Wednesday may not be considered for the Saturday game. Here is what to enter and what it means to us.

Yes: I am available. I am ready and want to play and am available for selection.

Ronnie fills in Yeses at the start of the year because he knows his availability. Mitch updates his availability on Tuesday or Wednesday once he knows.

No: I know that I will be unavailable for selection. If you are working or on holiday, you have a broken leg, or your Mum won't let you out put No. If you change the No to Yes before 6pm on Wednesday (maybe your Mum is sick of the sight of you, or your work rota has change) you will be considered.

Paul fills this in early because he knows when his holidays and Belladrum are booked.

Probably: I am available for selection and should be able to play subject to conditions. Use the notes field to explain conditions (I have to leave at 6.30, I can't start until 1.30, I'm still injured from last week.

Andy P. can use this every Saturday to take account of work.

If you enter Probably for both Saturday and Sunday we will assume you can play one but not both. If you enter Yes for one and Probably for the other we will take it you are avialable for both but can only play one and your preference is for the one with Yes.

Thorpey can do this to show his intentions or preferences.

Possibly: I am available for selection to make up numbers, I am happy to play once or twice a year.

Occasional players like Howard can use this to show they can help out if we are struggling.

If you are on call for work and may have to run away at short notice (but would still like to play) put Possibly and update the comments.

Unknown: I don't know my availability for later in the year or can't be bothered to update my availability.

If you don't know when you are working or you may have something ellse on, just leave your status as Unknown. You can always call us on Saturday morning if you feel like a game and think we could be short of players. 

To be absolutely clear:

No and Unknown mean you will not be considered for selection.

If you have Yes, Probably, or Possibly you will be considered for selection and could get a text on Wednesday or Thursday saying you are picked or reserve.

The selectors will try to consider your wishes with our selection but we can only do that if you make it known to us through the website or by text, phone, WhatsApp or at practice on Wednesday.

I anticipate questions about this so we can discuss all this on Wednesdays, on WhatsApp or Facebook.

Once again, this is for the good of the club and to assist the selectors but it is also intended to get you guys as much or as little cricket as you want, so it's worth taking it on board and giving it a chance.