Sport
26 September, 2022
Preparations ramp up for return of local cricket following 2022/23 fixture release
The local cricket season is set to get underway in just two weeks’ time, marking the return of the Maryborough Cricket Club to the fixture and featuring a roster of T20, one-day and two-day matches. The Maryborough and District Cricket Association...
The local cricket season is set to get underway in just two weeks’ time, marking the return of the Maryborough Cricket Club to the fixture and featuring a roster of T20, one-day and two-day matches.
The Maryborough and District Cricket Association (MDCA) has released its proposed fixtures for A grade and A reserve, which will kick off from October 8 and October 29 respectively.
The 2022/23 season, as it’s done in past years, will wrap up in March next year however will mix things up, featuring T20, one-day and two-day cricket formats throughout and will see each side play the other three times.
The first five games of the A grade season will take the shorter format of T20, with the remaining five games before Christmas to be 40 over matches before two-day competition returns next year.
MDCA president Mark Allen said the 2022/23 season marks the return to a normal calendar for the local cricket competition for the first time in three years, something he is eager to see underway.
“For the first time in three seasons, we are starting this season where we do traditionally — just after the AFL Grand Final,” he said.
“It’s just good to be back playing cricket again, the majority of clubs are looking forward to returning to two-day cricket which is our traditional set up, but a lot of us also enjoyed T20 and so we’ll play the first five weeks of the season in that format.
“There are three grounds we’re pretty confident will be up and running by October 8 which is good but Princes Park in particular is going to be a no go because of the amount of footy that’s been played there and the weather and T20 makes it a bit easier to play on hard wicket or make the changes we need.
“We’re hopeful we can get away with this season and put the interruptions of the past couple of years behind us.”
Round one will kick off with matches between Colts Phelans and Beaufort, MKM and Clunes and reigning premiers Laanecoorie Dunolly against returning A grade side Maryborough which withdrew from the previous season due to low player numbers, which Allen said will be the match of the round.
“It hasn’t been the same without Maryborough in the association last year and they’ve got a few players coming back and some new signings — it’s just great to have them back involved,” he said.
“Laane have been a powerhouse for the last few years and to see how Maryborough stacks up will be the highlight of the round I’d say.”
With the association’s first outing with T20 cricket last season a success, Allen said adding the format to the upcoming fixture would keep local cricket interesting.
“The T20 format was a success last year and we were able to play for an extra premiership which was good for all clubs,” he said.
“The pandemic certainly played its part in having a T20 comp, the year before that we played all 40-over, one-day cricket and it became a bit of a grind.
“We were probably one of the few leagues in the state that hadn’t played any T20 cricket at an A grade level so it was an opportunity to try it and it worked well.
“We’ve got the weeks available this season so thought we’d put them all into the one season to keep it interesting for players and spectators.”
Allen said the junior competition, which returned last year, will again take place in the upcoming season with an additional under 13s side and will likely commence in November, however dates are to be confirmed.