Sunraysia Cricket Association hopes for numbers boost

THE Sunraysia Cricket Association is hoping the lack of a football season might entice more numbers to cricket.

With the SFNL senior competition and the Millewa competition called off for 2020, and the SFNL juniors set to finish in September, cricket is likely to be able to proceed from the start of October according to SCA president Andrew Farlie.

“That’s probably the main aim at the minute, we have a meeting in a couple of weeks,” he said.

“We haven’t heard anything official from the SFNL about everything but I don’t believe they are going to be running in October.”

While a lot of players will have been out of their usual sporting action through winter, Farlie said former cricketers who had focused more on their winter sports might like to return to the field.

“Maybe some of those guys, especially the ones who have played in the past and not played for a few years, might want to get into a bit of the Twenty20 action early on in the season,” he said.

“Hopefully we can attract a few of those ones and get a few numbers early on.”

Whatever happens, there is likely to be a significant change in how players go about things due to COVID-19 protocols.

The shining of the ball with saliva, sharing drinks, handshakes and perhaps even the traditional afternoon tea could be a thing of the past.

“It’s certainly going to be a change from how you’d normally go about things, and your habits,” Farlie said.