Substitutes

ALthough the original RKC did a great job of working out substitutes, there is still some work to be done. Subs were first introduced in 1964 (with all kinds of restrictions initially applied) then extended to 4 in 1996. Traditionally used subs were named, but unused subs not because their "appearance" would rightly not count. I still think these are worth recording though.

Take my club Featherstone for instance. Substitutes. We've had 5,439 sub slots in total. 4,788 used and 651 non-playing subs. Of that 651, I know 88 and don't know 563. I'm fairly confident about the 4788, but if my local paper doesn't list them (which they don't) Ive little idea how to go about finding out about the 563 until I can rely on my own records from the 1990s.

What do other statto's do about non-playing subs??

i think unused subs should be listed, but obviously not included as an appearance. football always lists subs used & unused. however cricket generally does not. a sub in cricket is only used to replace a player temporary, but the system is often abused to give bowlers a rest. a sub catching a player out is only shown as caught sub. 

The only time it really matters (to me!) is in finals.  Non-playing subs are often not named but certainly in more recent times would have got medals. So a question is, do non-playing subs in finals (quite common in the 70s) count as being part of the winning team even if they didn't play?  I would have though they would have joined their teammates to collect medals even if they didn't get on?

On 27/05/2020 at 18:58, kev p said:

i think unused subs should be listed, but obviously not included as an appearance. football always lists subs used & unused. however cricket generally does not. a sub in cricket is only used to replace a player temporary, but the system is often abused to give bowlers a rest. a sub catching a player out is only shown as caught sub. 

In cricket the system is open to abuse, because subs are not named before the start of a match, therefore if a player in a specialist position, ie. slip, needs a break for whatever reason, he can be replaced by a Sub who specialises, Subs cannot bowl though, and the BBC last season were naming Subs if they partook in the taking of a wicket, ie, Ran Out, or Caught.