REVEALED: Why Mackay was the destination of choice for new cricket competition

Mackay will be a key focus of the Australian cricket community’s attention this weekend as it hosts the inaugural Century Cricket Competition Mackay at Harrup Park.

The Brisbane Heat enter the field ahead of their Women's Big Bash League match against the Melbourne Renegades at Harrup Park in Mackay. (AAP Image/Dave Acree)

Mackay will be a key focus of the Australian cricket community’s attention this weekend as it hosts the inaugural Century Cricket Competition Mackay at Harrup Park.

With close to 100 players representing eight teams from Queensland, South Australia and Victoria battling for a share of $80,000 in prize money, all games are set to be hotly contested.

Century Cricket Group co-founder Joel Hamilton said the organisation had decided to not only host the event in Mackay for the first time but keep it there for at least the next two seasons via a multi-year deal with the Mackay Regional Council.

“We’ve developed a really good relationship with the council, and from our perspective it’s an opportunity to provide something new,” Hamilton said.

“It would be easy to go to a place that a lot of the players have played at and have it there, but we’re trying to give people a new experience and what better place than one of the best regional cricket facilities in the country?

“They get that experience of everything right down to getting on a plane with their team, flying to the venue, staying with their team and just having that new experience.

“Country towns don’t often get a lot of opportunities to host these sorts of events, they’re always held in your big cities like Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne.

“But with the first-class facilities we’ve got at Harrup Park, especially with the Greater Barrier Reef Arena which is a broadcast standard stadium for cricket, it just makes sense from our perspective.”

Queensland’s Sam Heazlett bats during the Marsh One Day Cup match between Queensland and Victoria at Great Barrier Reef Arena, on October 19, 2023. (Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)

The games will be live-streamed on Kayo Freebies which Hamilton said was a fantastic opportunity to showcase the venue and the quality of cricket on display.

“People can watch even if they don’t have a Kayo subscription as long as they sign up for an account, and the games being held at Great Barrier Reef arena will be broadcast live from Friday at noon right through to 3pm on Sunday.”

The competition is using one of the newest and most fast-paced formats of the game, with one 100-ball innings for each side making the game a full 40 balls shorter than the Twenty20 format used in competitions such as the Big Bash League (BBL).

“Again, it was about providing something new and different for our players and spectators that wouldn’t be like what they’re used to with their club cricket,” Hamilton said.

“We wanted to provide a bit of a point of difference rather than just reinventing the wheel.”

The competition is set to feature several high-profile names including BBL players Sam Heazlett, James Bazley and Jay Lenton, and perhaps most notably former Test cricketer Mohammad Irfan from Pakistan.

Mohammad Irfan of Pakistan will play in Mackay. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)

“It’s a huge draw from our perspective and a huge opportunity for local cricketers to compete alongside and against some elite-level players,” Hamilton said.

“It’s great timing as well as with grade cricket just starting to wind up it’s an opportunity for these guys to blow out the cobwebs and actually play some cricket rather than just hitting training balls in the nets.”

The competition will take on a round-robin format, with the eight teams divided into two pools of four.

The top two sides from each pool to move through to the finals.

The top-placed side in Pool A will take on the second-placed side in Pool B and vice-versa, with the winner of each of those games to go through to the grand final.