Young pace bowlers operating in the Wairarapa Cricket Association's Bidwell Cup senior men's interclub competition have had the number of overs they can bowl in one spell and over the period of a day's play restricted.
The WCA's management committee has passed a bylaw which limits the workrate of pace bowlers (defined as bowlers where the wicketkeeper would normally stand back) aged 19 years and under.
They will be allowed to bowl a maximum of eight overs per spell and 16 overs per day.
And, at the completion of a spell, they may not bowl again until the equivalent number of overs has been bowled from the same end.
WCA executive officer Chris Cogdale said the new rule was made in the interests of player safety and followed extensive research findings.
He said coaches would be asked to apply the rule strictly and not try to avoid it by bringing up the wicketkeeper artificially.
"Player safety must be placed as a higher priority than match results."
Cogdale emphasised the restriction did not apply to spin bowlers and would be enforced only in Bidwell Cup matches, not Umpire's Cup limited-overs games.
Meanwhile, the first of the Bidwell Cup fixtures being played under the two-day format will be staged tomorrow and Sunday, tomorrow's action starting at noon and Sunday's one hour earlier.
Fronting up on the Rathkeale No1 wicket will be Flight Centre Lansdowne and Turkey Red Greytown, and Rathkeale College and Red Star will do battle at Rathkeale Oval.
Lansdowne and Greytown struggled to get among the runs when they were without their rep players last Saturday but whereas Lansdowne suffered the ultimate cost of being beaten by Wairarapa College, Greytown did still manage to struggle to a one-wicket win over Rathkeale.
If both teams are back to full strength, this weekend's contest should be a cracker as they each have several players with the potential to shine with bat and ball.
Red Star are likely to be missing gun allrounders Greg Todd, Dean van Deventer and Nicolai Karaitiana for their encounter with a Rathkeale side, who will be considerably boosted by the return of Ben Foster and Harry Clinton-Baker,
Much will depend on how a significantly weakened Red Star attack performs, with the heaviest burden expected to fall on experienced medium pacers Jared Watt and Peter Sigvertsen, both of whom have risen to the occasion in the past.
Competition points are:
Bidwell Cup: Greytown 15, Wairarapa College 15, Rathkeale 5, Lansdowne 1, Red Star 0.
Umpire's Cup: Red Star 4, Lansdowne 4, Greytown 0, Rathkeale 0, Wairarapa College 0.