TWO-DAY matches will return in the Sunraysia Cricket Association (SCA) for the 2021-22 season.
Newly-elected SCA president Mick Thomson confirmed the new season, set to begin in early October, will consist of seven two-day matches, seven one-day matches and a mid-week Twenty20 competition.
The previous season was played in a purely white-ball format following a directive of Cricket Australia and Cricket Victoria to allow for definite results in the case of a COVID-enforced shutdown.
Thomson said players had overwhelmingly been in favour of a return to the longer format at a local level.
“We had toyed with the idea of making a season of all white-ball games and with the uncertainty through COVID, it gave us the opportunity to trial that,” he said.
“The response we got from the players was overwhelmingly to go back to two-day cricket. I think the players seem to enjoy that form of the game much more.”
Thomson, also the longest serving current SCA board member, took over the reins from Andrew Farlie at the most recent board meeting. Newcomers Deanne Marr and Nick Jensen were elected to the board, replacing outgoing Farlie and Tom Vadlja.
“I’ve been on the board six years now and with ‘Farls’ moving on it was time for me to step up,” Thomson said.
“I just love going to the cricket and with my boys (Adam and Mark) playing for different clubs I’m not aligned to a particular club now. I’ll often try and get to three or four games in a weekend if I can.”
The SCA are also advertising to fill a number of positions within their ranks. Expressions of interest are being taken for a development officer, administration manager, director of umpiring and the newly created position of junior director of coaching ahead of the new season.
“Certainly helping build our umpiring ranks will be a key thing for us, and the development officer will be aimed mainly at primary aged kids,” Thomson said.
“Junior director of coaching is a new position partially funded by Cricket Victoria and the idea is that the person will go into clubs and help develop junior coaches. There are mums and dads out there who are putting their hands up to help coach and this would be just to help give them some extra training as coaches for the kids.
“There are lots of good things happening with cricket at the moment. We were concerned with how things would go with COVID and if players would be keen to come back, especially those who may have pursued other interests, but they are coming back to cricket which is great.
“I think going back to two-games has been a bit of a pull for a lot of them.”
New lights are set to be added to the home of Mildura West at John Hall Oval, which would give the SCA three night venues alongside Gol Gol’s Alcheringa Oval and Dareton’s George Gordon Oval.
“We can play these T20 matches under lights, and it also means we shouldn’t be heated out because there is the option of playing games later in the day,” Thomson said.
The SCA will not play any 2021-22 fixtures at the newly built South Mildura Sporting Precinct.
