THE cancellation of Saturday’s Sunraysia round 9 one-day games (and Red Cliffs Cricket Association) due to the sweltering forecast temperature of 43 degrees has put the focus on local cricket associations’ extreme-heat policies.
The SCA’s decision to cancel play on a scheduled day is based on the Bureau of Meteorology’s temperature forecast at 6pm on the previous day.
If the temperature for Mildura is forecast to be 42 degrees or greater, the SCA will call off play the night before match day.
However, where two or more consecutive days immediately before the scheduled match day have reached 42 degrees or higher, the cancellation temperature for the match day will be adjusted to a forecast 39 instead of 42.
The Red Cliffs Cricket Association, meanwhile, expects its players to be made of a bit sterner stuff.
For it to cancel play the night before a scheduled match day, the forecast temperature needs to be 43 or higher.
If it’s 41 or 42, players, umpires and officials are expected to rock up at grounds where extreme-heat guidelines are activated.
This is essentially allowing for more drinks breaks and modified playing conditions.
A few of us in the Sunraysia Daily bunker this week tossed around a few ideas on how the extreme-heat policies could be adjusted to ensure as much cricket as possible could be played over the summer.
Starting games earlier on a Saturday, from, say, 8.30am instead of the usual 1pm, seemed to be a good solution.
This would see play done and dusted before the worst of the heat kicked in after 4pm.
I canvassed the idea with SCA president Mick Thomson.
“We have actually given this some thought before, but the major issue with it is the people who work on Saturday mornings,” he said.
“It just becomes too difficult with players’ work commitments.”
I then quizzed Thomson on how local cricket was travelling in general this season.
Like most sports, there had been a slight decline in senior players, he said.
“There have been a couple of weeks where there have been forfeits in Fourth Division,” Thomson said.
Clubs have long topped up lower-grade senior teams with juniors, but he said it was becoming “a bit more” prevalent this season.
“But I think we have done extremely well to maintain eight clubs with four divisions for so long,” Thomson said.
“That’s 32 teams and close to 400 men playing every weekend.”
In the face of the rapid growth of basketball, where local junior and senior player numbers now rival football, Thomson said that cricket in Sunraysia was maintaining a “good” level of popularity.
“In all honesty, it’s been stable for the last 10 or 15 years,” he said.
“We never have big crowds. But in saying that, I have a young bloke playing at Irymple (Mark) and if I’m there (watching him) for three or four hours, you’d be surprised with the numbers of cars that come and go into the ground.”
Thomson said a “big positive” was the popularity of the Thursday night T20s this season.
“The crowds have been really good,” he said.
“It’s something we’ll look to continue next year with a few modifications.”
Dream believers
The trio largely driving the exciting new representative footy and netball concept at Mildura Sporting Precinct in April deserve a pat on the back.
There are still logistical issues to sort out for Michael Robertson, Damien Hall and Ben Ridley, but the “Dreamtime at the P” could be one of the biggest events in Sunraysia in 2023.
I love how so many people are throwing their support behind the concept, which will have a strong Indigenous focus on a big day of footy, netty and pre-game entertainment.
This day will breathe new life into representative footy after years of it falling off players’ priorities lists.
Ridley, who will double as an assistant coach to SFNL great Don Falvo, is a terrific unifying force.
You might think I’m biased because he is part of the Sunraysia Daily football coverage as an SFNL analyst. But I’ve observed just how much he brings people together.
The players respect him so much.
He talks their language and it’s little wonder all the top-tier players want to be part of the Dreamtime game.
Meanwhile, it was good to see SFNL president Paul Matheson turn up to the Dreamtime briefing for Mildura’s movers and shakers on Wednesday night.
Matheson had given Sunraysia Daily the silent treatment since the State Election in late November, but he broke the ice with a handshake and promise to move forward for the good of the game.
In a show of solidarity for the Dreamtime concept, he was accompanied by two other board members, the netball representatives, Marlene Byrnes and Yelena Richardson.
A happy place
I LOVE this photo of Georgia Mayne and Bronte Pezzaniti sharing a laugh at the Mildura Heat’s first 2023 practise session last weekend.
It sums up James Madigan’s Big V Division 1 women’s basketball team.
They have such a great bond.
Madigan won’t finalise his team till early March, just before the statewide competition tips off.
However, judging by the good turnout last Saturday at the Hothouse, all the elite local players want to be part of this team again.
It pretty much mirrors what’s going on with the Sunraysia senior football team.
Players are completely dialled in. They want to play with the cream of the crop.
The buzz was enormous about the Heat women last year as they staged a heroic, against-all-odds run to the finals.
It promises to be the same again this year when Madigan has a “last dance” with his beloved team.
I can’t wait to see how the season plays out for Madigan’s marvels, and indeed the star-studded Sunraysia footy team.
Clean-up army
The wonderful volunteers at Sunraysia’s sporting clubs are already getting their hands dirty in what’s going to be a massive clean-up from the floods.
Whether it’s at Mildura Lawn Tennis Club, Mildura Racing Club or Coomealla Golf Club, the work already under way to mop up is so heartening to see.
It’s a long road ahead, but the fact that the recovery has started earlier than expected is a positive.
