Grafton cricket grand finals to proceed despite Clarence River flood
Not even a major flood will prevent Clarence River Cricket Association’s grand finals across three grades from going ahead in Grafton this weekend.
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Not even a major flood will prevent Clarence River Cricket Association’s grand finals across three grades from going ahead in Grafton this weekend.
After Grafton received 186.4mm of rain between Saturday night - which put an end to the GDSC Premier League preliminary final mid-match - and when the skies cleared overnight on Tuesday, the Clarence River Cricket Association has enjoyed three sunny days to get Ellem Oval, Lower Fisher Turf and Lower Fisher Synthetic ready to host the Premier League, 2nd Grade and 3rd Grade grand finals respectively.
Preparations were almost stifled by CRCA curator Tony “Scully” Blanch being stranded by floodwaters in Iluka until Thursday.
However, he remains 100 per cent confident all three matches will go ahead as planned from 12.30pm on Saturday, despite the option being available to shift games back to Sunday if required.
“I decided I would go down to see the girlfriend and the rain kept going longer than I thought and I got swamped in at Iluka for a couple of extra days,” Blanch told The Daily Examiner on Thursday afternoon.
“It didn’t stop preparation of the wickets; rain stopping Tuesday night, a day of sunshine Wednesday and on the wicket Thursday.”
There is a high chance the matches at Grafton could be the only grand finals played along the entire North Coast region this weekend.
“Other competitions at Lismore and Coffs Harbour haven’t played for a month and won’t play grand finals, so we’re pretty lucky here at the moment,” Blanch said.
Lower Clarence Cricket Association announced on Friday that its grand finals have been abandoned for a second year in a row, handing minor premiers Lawrence the Maclean Bowling Club First Grade title over Yamba.
While Iluka Oval was considered as a replacement venue to Barry Watts Oval in Maclean, the extra travel as well as player availability impacted due to work and home concerns in the aftermath of the floods led to the decision.
Coffs Harbour District Cricket Association’s 2nd Grade and 3rd Grade grand finals have been cancelled. However at this stage the North Coast Premier League fixture between Sawtell and Northern Districts Rebels will go ahead at Richardson Park, Sawtell.
While one in 100-year floods were impacting places elsewhere on the North Coast last weekend, the GDSC Premier League preliminary final went ahead as planned at Ellem Oval.
“It wasn’t just myself,” Blanch said. “My son (Nathan) I give a lot of credit to. He was down there for five days in a row, and on the Thursday there was a few other players from Tucabia and Westlawn turned up, which was good.
“If players want to play and get a game in, it’s up to them to really put the extra work in to get the fields up and running.”
Ulmarra Hotel Tucabia Copmanhurst posted 156 thanks, largely to Bob McKenzie’s season best 61 not out off 144 balls including three big sixes into the skate park. GDSC Easts-Westlawn Crown Hotel were 0/3 in reply before overnight rain washed out the remainder of the fixture on Sunday, which meant Tucabia progressed as the higher ranked side to face minor premiers Brothers Clocktower Hotel in the grand final.
Blanch expects similar conditions to greet players this weekend.
“I got on it today to roll it, and actually had to put a sprinkle of water in it just to crust it up,” he said.
“The core of the wicket is hard anyway, it’s just the surface water that we had to get rid off when the rain stopped on Tuesday.
“In my opinion the wicket should play similar to last week; plenty of turn, a little bit of seam early with the new ball, but a slow wicket, not a fast one because there’s not enough sun there to actually bake it.
“A score 200 will be a good game of cricket.”
Meanwhile, Grafton Hotel Coutts Crossing will take on Sunline Fencing Tucabia Copmanhurst in the GDSC 2nd Grade grand final at Lower Fisher Turf, where the preliminary final was abandoned, effectively ending GDSC Easts Poplar Sheds’ season despite being the form side of the competition having won their previous seven matches.
It will be the third game in a row Coutts and Tucabia have squared off, after Tucabia won the minor semi-final by six wickets, and Coutts returned fire with a seven-wicket win in the major semi-final. The toss proved significant on both occasions, with the decision to bowl first on the slow surface paying dividends.
“The wicket itself will be a good wicket for 2nd Grade,” Blanch said.
“The main concern there is the run ups and around the wicket.
“I reckon it’ll actually be a bit faster than what it normally is, because it’s base is a lot harder underneath. It’s just that the surroundings are so wet, that’s about it.”
The GDSC 3rd Grade clash at Lower Fisher Synthetic was the only Clarence River preliminary final to reach completion last weekend, with Coutts Crossing earning the right to challenge Brothers Jimmy Watters Painting/Hello Travelworld for the title thanks to the last over heroics of Lance Chevalley (45no) against B&S Kitchens Tucabia Copmanhurst.
Getting to Grafton during times of flood can be a logistical nightmare for many rural Clarence River residents, including Lance Chevalley and his family, who live at Coledale and have been blocked off all week. Only on Friday afternoon were they able to confirm their availability to their Coutts Crossing teammates, with Lance and his daughter Caitlin lining up in the 3rd Grade decider, and son Lewis in 2nd Grade.
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