By Nick Creely
While the West Gippsland Cricket Association (WGCA) was hoping for an early 6 November start to its season, with a mixture of one-day and two-day cricket, the association has locked in a season start date subject to State Government restrictions.
In line with recommendations released recently from Cricket Victoria, the WGCA has announced its season will begin on Saturday 13 November, with the season to once again be played in a one-day format.
The WGCA’s newly announced season start – which is a week later than the association had originally planned – means clubs should get the opportunity to get in almost three weeks of pre-season training before the season kicks off, subject to the predicted 26 October release of Metropolitan Melbourne from lockdown.
While the 6 November start date was originally the WGCA’s preferred start date, discussions and feedback from the clubs have prompted for the change, which will comprise of 14 one-day matches of 40 overs per side with one-day rules.
The top-three grades will play with a white ball and coloured clothing, while the remaining grades will play with a red ball and white clothing unless an agreement is reached between both teams and both clubs wear coloured clothing.
The WGCA plans on playing the first six rounds prior to Christmas, with the association to return on Saturday 8 January from the break. Finals will begin on Saturday 5 March with the grand final on Saturday 19 March. Saturday 26 March has been locked in as the grand final reserve day.
It is unclear at this stage whether only the fully vaccinated can participate in cricket this season, with Cricket Victoria in communication with the State Government.The WGCA is expected to release its season fixture imminently.
