New Season gets underway March 27th

Defending champions Ramla, playing under the new name Lod Rangers, open up the league season with a match against an Israel X1, playing in the league as preparation for the ICC Europe Division 2 Championships to be held in Guernsey in July.

The league format remains largely unchanged. A new team from Petah Tikva joins in Division 2, whilst the Negev Academy team has taken a break this year to allow their players to rather participate in the junior leagues, leaving the number of teams at 19. Division 1 consists of 8 clubs plus the Israel X1, played on a round-robin basis before a second round of games, which will see the Israel X1 drop out, and the 8 clubs divided into groups of four based on their standings, carrying points forward and playing each other again to decide the champions.

Division 2 consists of 10 teams, playing each other once, with the winners earning automatic promotion, and the second placed team entitled to a promotion play-off match against the team second from bottom in Division 1.

The Israel domestic league is played on a unique format. Although games are all of one-day duration with a maximum of 80 overs in a day, declarations can be made and unless the team batting second either reaches their target or is bowled out, the result is a draw. The objective of the format, introduced last year, is to create situations which allow for different approaches to batting, attacking or defensive as required, create situations which demand of bowlers to take wickets and not just focus on economy, and force both captains and players to think more when playing the game.

The ICA has introduced a new Code of Conduct this year, clearly outlining offences according to their levels of severity, the punishments they will receive and the disciplinary process.

In addition the the league, a T20 tournament will also be played. The season is scheduled to finish in late October.