St Joseph’s calls GCA T20 competition a ‘waste of time’ after drawing Teesdale in round 1

One GCA1 club has hit out at the association’s new T20 competition, calling the inter-division tournament a “waste of time”.

St Joseph's Jonathan Casey congratulates bowler Scott Condy on taking down Darcy Pearson with a clean bowl. GCA1: South Barwon v St Joseph's at South Barwon. Picture: Alan Barber

St Joseph’s skipper Luke Ibbs has hit out at the GCA’s newly formed T20 competition, suggesting it to be a “bit of a waste of time”.

The division 1 side is scheduled to travel to Teesdale for the opening round clash on October 25.

Ibbs said he supported the idea of the competition, but there were teething issues with the system.

“What they’re trying to do is good, I do like the idea of playing in a T20 competition,” he said.

“But personally, it’s not valuable for us to play a division three or four side, it’s better for us to have training.

St Joseph's bowler Scott Condy. Picture: Alan Barber

“Drawing Teesdale first is probably the worst-case scenario for us, we’re an older team that won’t be able to make the trip so it’s hard to say what the strength of the team is going to be.”

The clash between St Joseph’s and Teesdale is the only first-round clash between a division 1 team and a division 4 opponent.

With lower-division teams slated to host the knockout games against any higher-ranked opponents, teams in the turf-only divisions one and two may be forced to play on synthetic wickets for the competition.

St Joseph's batsman Luke Ibbs. GCA1: Newtown & Chilwell v St Joseph's at Queens Park. Picture: Alan Barber

Teesdale is one of five division 4 teams that uses a synthetic wicket for home games, while St Joseph’s plays exclusively on turf pitches.

Ibbs said St Joseph’s would “get nothing” out of playing on hard wickets.

“I think it’s silly for us to be playing on hard wickets, it’s not what we’re looking for,” he said.

Teesdale Cricket club will play St Joseph’s in round 1. Daniel Lawson Picture: Mark Wilson

“There isn’t really any benefit, I don’t think we really need to be travelling out to Teesdale to play on synthetic decks.

“I’m all for the idea that they’ve had for this competition, but it needs to be just division 1 and 2 teams in it.”

East Belmont coach Chris Williams said he did not think there would be any problem playing on different surfaces for the competition.

“As a team, we’re very happy to be playing on the synthetic wickets, we’re not sure who would complain about that for this sort of competition,” he said.

“There’s absolutely no disadvantage for a turf side having to play on hard wickets, and any suggesting so is more likely an attitude of thinking synthetics are beneath them.”

Originally published as St Joseph’s calls GCA T20 competition a ‘waste of time’ after drawing Teesdale in round 1