Weatherwax Cup, Season 2

[weatherwax]

Some matches have not taken place, but no-one has contacted me to say why this has happened. If challenges have been sent out but not accepted, the team that sent the challenges is entitled to a win by default, but if you don't tell me, I cannot apply that rule.

Challenges are normally to be sent by the home team, but we know that the internet in some regions can be problematic, or managers may be away from their computers for a few days, so the away team can send the challenges if they have not received them by the weekend before the match.

If neither team sends the challenges, and the matches do not take place, then no points are awarded to either team.

[weatherwax]

The admin overhead for this tournament has been quite high, and I have not always been able to attend to it on time. I am sorry for that.

If we run it next season, I propose a few changes, which I hope will make the tournament easier for you, and will help me to deal with things more efficiently. I would also appreciate any suggestions.

1) I feel that 14 weeks is too long for a season of this kind, with three matches a week to organise. Therefore, I propose divisions of 6 teams instead of 8. This will result in a 10-week season. This gives us the option to start the season after the first or second round of the cup have been played.
2) There will be no byes. If there are not enough teams to make complete divisions of 6 teams, then we will run fewer divisions.
3) Rule 2.5 (the rule to reverse the bat-first setup on Tuesday and Saturday) will be removed. This means that you can set orders for all three days in advance.
4) We are still stuck with having to arrange our challenges every week, and to fit them in with other friendlies and the regular Stumped matches. That is out of our control, however, we could reduce the load by playing 2 games a week instead of 3; how do you feel about that?
5) Also, I wonder how you feel about playing the matches at weekends? If we adopted a 2-game format, and with the rule to alternate bat-first removed, both the games could be played on Saturday. This is just an idea, I would like to know your thoughts.

[FlashXI]

The admin overhead for this tournament has been quite high, and I have not always been able to attend to it on time. I am sorry for that.

If we run it next season, I propose a few changes, which I hope will make the tournament easier for you, and will help me to deal with things more efficiently. I would also appreciate any suggestions.

1) I feel that 14 weeks is too long for a season of this kind, with three matches a week to organise. Therefore, I propose divisions of 6 teams instead of 8. This will result in a 10-week season. This gives us the option to start the season after the first or second round of the cup have been played.
2) There will be no byes. If there are not enough teams to make complete divisions of 6 teams, then we will run fewer divisions.
3) Rule 2.5 (the rule to reverse the bat-first setup on Tuesday and Saturday) will be removed. This means that you can set orders for all three days in advance.
4) We are still stuck with having to arrange our challenges every week, and to fit them in with other friendlies and the regular Stumped matches. That is out of our control, however, we could reduce the load by playing 2 games a week instead of 3; how do you feel about that?
5) Also, I wonder how you feel about playing the matches at weekends? If we adopted a 2-game format, and with the rule to alternate bat-first removed, both the games could be played on Saturday. This is just an idea, I would like to know your thoughts.

[weatherwax]

It is clear that fatigue has set in -- I feel it too. Fourteen weeks of booking and setting orders for three friendlies a week is too much. We need a break. So let's just play the last week of this season, then have a rest.

This tournament is a good idea, but trying to make it work within the limitations of Stumped is just not worth the effort. I have decided not to run it next season, and we will wait and see if Rob and Andy have the time and inclination to offer some help. I realise that the coding time needed is probably more than they want to invest, but here's what would help:
1) An unlimited overs match option, or, failing that, 150 overs;
and/or
2) The option in Friendly Competitions to play the same opponent 2 or 3 times in a week, and for all teams in the competition to play all the others, once at home and once away.