The fast bowling Directives are designed to raise awareness of the need to nurture and protect our young fast bowlers through their formative years, and have been warmly welcomed by a significant number of coaches and managers. Statistics clearly show that fast bowlers regularly win International matches, and if England is to achieve the vision of becoming the most successful and respected cricket nation, we must make every effort to produce bowlers to reach the goal.

I would like to thank those involved in the development of talented fast bowlers for their observations and constructive feedback regarding the initiative. Most of the concerns surrounded the policing of the regulations and the legal implications. The process of monitoring the Directives was always likely to be a challenge, but as coaches we should consider the welfare of the individuals under our supervision, the regulations are designed to minimize the possibility of injury.

The more coaches, managers, captains, players, umpires and parents we can enroll in the principles, the more chance we have of successfully implementing the proposals. As regards the legal implications, in an age of increasing litigation coaches should ensure they are fully insured. Compliance with the Directives will reduce any chance of legal action.

The regulations are specifically aimed at the long term development of fast bowlers from the playground to the Test arena, so it would be unfair to claim a significant impact upon injury prevention after three seasons, however, one County which followed the Directives closely reported no incidents of spinal injury to their fast bowlers in Junior squads in 2001, after several years of chronic back complaints.

The Directives will again relate to all competitions under the auspices of the ECB at Under 19 level and below as well as all Premier League matches. It should be emphasized that the age of the player is the key criteria, and not the level of cricket being played.

The restrictions will be reviewed annually, and the Directives are unchanged for the 2003 season. I look forward to your continued support of this initiative, and your contributions to the development of talented young fast bowlers.

Age Max spells Max Overs
Up to 13 - 4 overs per spell - 8 overs per day
U14, U15 - 5 overs per spell - 10 overs per day
U16, U17 - 6 overs per spell - 18 overs per day
U18, U19 - 7 overs per spell - 21 overs per day