Clubs in the Bradford League have been warned of the consequences of bowling their overs too slowly this season.

A new rule means that if sides do not bowl their 50 overs in three hours and ten minutes, including breaks, (15.82 overs an hour) they are liable to have a point deducted for a first offence and two points for a second offence etc.

However, at the pre-season captains' meeting at Cleck-heaton Sports Club, league secretary Bob Shackleton showed just how much some clubs will have to improve by unless they wish to suffer huge penalties.

Using the new points system of ten for a win and the over rates from 2005, he said: "Two first teams in Division One would have lost over 150 (153 to be precise) points and two first-teams in Division Two would have lost over 100 points.

"One club captain (in Division Two) failed to achieve the 15.82 overs an hour on 18 occasions, which would have meant a points loss of 171."

However, on the other side of the coin, two first teams only offended once for a deduction of one point, and one second team Division One side didn't offend at all.

A total of 11 first teams were above the 15.82 overs an hour mark on average for the season - six in the First Division and five in the Second Division.

One law of first-class cricket that will be enforced this year in a bid to speed up proceeedings is that batsmen must cross on the field of play (Law 42). Glyn Pearson, chairman of the Bradford League Umpires' Association, said: "If they don't then the umpires (or the scorers) will make a note on the match sheet of the batsman's number.

"Law 42 also states that the batsman must be ready to receive the ball when the bowler is ready to bowl."

Some skippers were worried about opponents deliberately slowing things down in order to get the fielding side punished, but the management board, although realising it is a 'suck it and see" situation promised they would try to rule fairly on proceedings.

Babar Butt, one of the two players' representatives on the league's board of management, said: "It is a long-awaited new era of Bradford League cricket. Let's make cricket cool."