IT was interesting to see the Sunraysia Cricket Association (SCA) announce this week it would consider the introduction of a player points system to promote loyalty.
In principal, I think the concept has plenty of merit, but how practical it would be to enforce and administer, I’m not sure.
These types of things sound great in theory, but you need to have the resources to make them work.
You only have to look at the Geelong Cricket Association, which introduced a player points system in 2014-15, to see how difficult it is to get the formula right.
Six years on and it is still making changes, trying to find the right mix.
I know it has worked successfully across community football, but they have a lot more paid resources than cricket.
If you are going to introduce things like this, you need to do it properly, otherwise it defeats the purpose of doing it at all.
And you have to ask the question, is it something we really need to even up local cricket and help with player retention?
It doesn’t matter what sport or competition it is, every year players change clubs, it’s just a fact of life.
Some do it because they want a new challenge, others because of the financial enticement and some they just want a change.
Every player has their reasons for swapping clubs and that’s their right.
We might not always agree with their decision, but ultimately each individual has the right to make the choice who they play for.
I know personally, I wouldn’t want to hold a player if they weren’t fully committed to my club.
Mildura Settlers could have denied Luke Coates’ clearance to Nichols Point, but what would it have achieved?
Coates has given Setts reasonable service, he helped them win the 2018-19 grand final and while no club wants to lose someone of such talent, if he doesn’t want to be there, then there isn’t much sense fighting to keep him.
All that does is create friction and bad blood between clubs and the player and, ultimately, the players normally always get what they want anyway, so making them go through the appeal process in most cases just prolongs the inevitable.
I know Nichols Point have been the talking point among rival clubs over the past couple of years because of the number of players they have been able to entice.
But the reality is, despite these recruits, they still haven’t been able to make the top four.
Nichols Point are no different to any other club in the SCA, they are trying to build a culture and create sustainable success.
They have put a lot of emphasis on the development of their junior program and, in years to come, I’m sure this will be provide the platform for their success.
But in the short-term, the players they have recruited have been brought in to help with the development of their juniors and provide some experience to the senior side.
I don’t see how wanting to improve your club by recruiting outside talent is an issue. In fact, the Nichols Point administration should be commended for its pro-active approach.
Football clubs are lauded when they land a couple of big names in the off- season, so what makes cricket any different?
There wouldn’t be a club in the SCA which doesn’t have a player in its side who hasn’t played for an opposition team.
It’s just how things work and maybe before people start pointing the finger, they just need to have a look at their own playing list – they might be surprised at how many of their players are from opposition clubs.
