As I've teased for the last few weeks, major changes are coming to UPCL Cricket in the upcoming season. It became very clear during the Reconstruction process this season, including the new scheduling format, that playing 70 games a year for each team would become quite cumbersome. However, with the Tournament tie-in, we can't just cut teams or players due to that sport's unique format, so a compromise was reached. UPCL Cricket is no longer one league of 36 teams. Instead, the teams have been divided, for cricket only, into three tiers, creating a European style league system. Each tier has 12 teams, and each tier competes in slightly different ways in the upcoming season, set to begin sometime in November. Here's a little primer for what's ahead.
UPCL Select is the lowest tier in the system, and is fairly straightforward. Teams in this tier finished 25th-36th in cricket during the last full season. In this tier, the aim is to move upward, which the top four teams will do at the end of the year. These four teams also earn the right to participate in the reformed Hutton Cup Playoffs, but face a stiff challenge by playing the top four teams from the top tier. Teams from Select will also participate in the first rounds of the newly-formed United Cup, a midseason competition set to take place approximately every seven weeks of the regular season in a one-off knockout format.
UPCL Elite is the middle tier in the system, and will experience the most change year-over-year. Teams placing 17th-24th in the previous season were automatically allocated to this tier, as well as the four worst teams knocked out from the first round of the 2017 Hutton Cup playoffs. The worst four teams in Elite will be relegated to Select, replaced by the top four Select teams in a promotion. The middle four teams in Elite stay put for the next year, the only constants in Elite play. Finally, the top four teams from Elite also earn bids to the Hutton Cup, getting a slightly better draw by playing the middle four teams of the top tier. In the United Cup, Elite functions in an identical manner to Select, playing right from the start of that competition.
UPCL Premier is the top tier of the system, representing the eight quarter-finalists from this year's Hutton Cup playoffs, as well as the best four teams eliminated in the first round. Premier is considered the highest level of UPCL Cricket, so there is no moving up from here. Instead, the bottom four Premier teams are relegated to Elite, replaced by Elite's promoted teams. At the end of the year, the top eight teams in Premier, all those not being relegated, are filled into the Hutton Cup to face teams from the Elite and Select levels. Premier teams will hold home-field advantage in the Hutton Cup, a massive boost to their chances of success. In the United Cup, Premier teams earn the right to take the first round off, allowing them to last longer in the competition.
The United Cup is a newly formed competition to fill out the schedule and make things interesting during the season. Rankings for the United Cup will be finalized at the 7th week for Select and Elite teams, and at the 14th week for Premier teams. The United Cup, the Hutton Cup, and the regular season championship in each tier will be the major team trophies going forward for UPCL Cricket, with any team able to capture three earning a treble.
As mentioned early on, scheduling was a concern for changing the league into a tiered system. Teams across all tiers will play 44 games in the season, exclusively against their own tiers. Each team will play the other 11 teams in their tier twice at home and twice on the road. With no divisions and balanced schedules within each tier, tiebreakers will return to head-to-head wins, and points if results are even. This will lead to a season that is significantly shorter, at 22 weeks compared to 35, a nearly 40 percent decrease. With the United Cup included, the season pace should be about 6 months in the regular season and a month in the playoffs.
Another change comes from the return of players involved in the Puyallup Exodus, as well as some Legacy players returning from international leagues. These players' returns require each team to expand rosters to five players, but only four players will be in a lineup for a cricket game. Lineups will be determined by previous events in the day, injuries, or general fatigue from the cricket schedule. Tentatively, Select matches are expected to be played on Mondays and Tuesdays, while Elite will play on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and Premier will play on Saturdays and Sundays. These are subject to change by need. In action, should a team play twice in one session, lineup positions should be rotated. In coordination with Tournament action, players participating in pool games on a given day can expect to rest from cricket, unless needed by the team. This system will also allow for suspensions to be given more weight. All factors will be considered when making lineup decisions.
That's the big news for UPCL Cricket, which will become an obsolete phrase at the end of the current Hutton Cup cycle. In the coming weeks, I will be creating and posting schedules for each tier's upcoming season. I expect a similar distribution of doubleheaders and three-in-four situations, although fewer by virtue of a shorter season. I expect bye weeks won't be as prominent this year. The Hutton Cup continues on Monday with the quarterfinals.
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