Elsternwick call for resolution to ‘disheartening’ tank leak flooding cricket nets
Just when you thought the issues at Elsternwick Park were over, another major problem is causing frustration. The local club is pleading with council to take immediate action.
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It is not just the oval that has caused disappointment for Subbies north-south club Elsternwick, it has also been the dysfunctional cricket nets which have been used only six times this season.
With up to 70 seniors and more than 100 juniors at the club, players have been forced to train on grass this season due to a tank leakage which has constantly left the three-lane cricket nets flooded.
“Imagine parking, getting out of your car, you’re all pumped, it’s a beautiful afternoon, you haven’t had much rain, you walk over (to the nets) and it’s all under water, it’s pretty disheartening,” Elsternwick coach John Watkin said.
“It really does need to get resolved.”
It is believed that Bayside Council tried to resolve the tank leak in early January, although, the nets were flooded again a week after the works.
Watkin explained how the club has found uncommon ways of training to get through the season.
“The bowlers have been bowling on the ground to a stump and the batter have been doing throw downs on the ground with jugs balls,” he said bemusingly.
Despite the club’s clear training disadvantage to the 15 other Subbies teams, Elsternwick have still managed to hold a spot in the top six.
The foundation Subbies club who have been around since 1901 sit in sixth position on the ladder with a 7-3 win-loss record.
Remarkably the club went into the Christmas break with a 5-1 record.
The club has had to play all their games away from home in the First XI due to their ground being unfit for play which is set to continue until February 11.
Watkin explained why the acessiblibily of the nets was so important particularly when both the juniors and seniors at the club used the same three nets.
“It’s really really frustrating because the nets have been flooded and we’re talking 30 degrees and we can’t train on them,” he said.
“And we don’t have turf practice wickets so the synthetic wickets that we have got really need to be accessible all the time.
“The other thing is we are a growing club, we have junior girls and boys, blast programs running, we have five senior men’s teams and senior a women’s team.
“So trying to organise and accommodate everybody is really quite a challenge.
“And we have only got three nets anyway which is not ideal for a club our size.”
Fellow Subbies club Brighton, who have similar participation numbers and also located in the Bayside municipality, are believed to have turf practice wickets as well as a high standard of synthetic nets.
Elsternwick president John Dunnachie also expressed frustration about the situation.
“The frustration for me is we have really built the club over the last three-fours years,” Dunnachie said.
“We have added a 5th side, women’s side, an U17 and an U13 girls and boys.
“We’re trying to play the U17’s on turf and to have the one ground missing has really impeded that.”
Dunnachie credited the players for their response to the difficult circumstances.
“It is (difficult) but they have been amazing,” he said.
“I think certainly the blokes like the firsts who have had to play away.
“Winning has certainly helped. If we had of gone into Christmas with a 2-5 record or something like that, there would have been a lot more finger pointing at the committee in regards to the conditions.”
He said the poor state of the training nets made it difficult to recruit players when there were nearby clubs with better functioning facilities.
“It is frustrating because you recruit players from premier cricket and they expect to come and have good conditions,” he said.
“When you walk them around and say you have had 10-12 million dollars worth of works done on both grounds and your practice facilities.
“And then unfortunately your firsts haven’t played a home game, it’s disappointing from a club and committee's perspective that’s for certain.”
The club has been in discussions with Bayside Council with hopes of having the nets fixed in the off season in time for next season.
“Hopefully by next season they can look to rectify it in some way,” he said.
Elsternwick said they were keen to work constructively with Bayside Council to resolve the issue.
Bayside Council’s director of environment, recreation and infrastructure Mark Varmalis said “we’re working with Elsternwick Cricket Club to resolve the flooding of the cricket nets.”
Elsternwick to play first Subbies home game of season in February
Bayside Council’s Elsternwick Park is set for a return to play for the first time in almost five months when Elsternwick’s first XI cricket team take on Malvern in a Subbies match on February 11.
The Saturday-Sunday two-day game will be the first time the club plays a home game on the ground this season after 12 rounds of away matches.
It comes as 3500 square metres of the oval has been re-laid with new turf as part of Bayside Council’s 10-stage intensive renovation program.
The program began on November 28 following an assessment conducted in October which found major surface and drainage issues with the ground after the devastating Premier B grand final.
A VAFA statement said the assessment of the ground found “a thick and dense layer of thatch and rootmat existed over the entire playing surface.”
“The assessment found that water drainage was ‘extremely poor’ through this layer which was confirmed by the ‘poor infiltration rate’ measured in a number of locations on the oval surface,” the statement said.
“As a consequence (of the poor drainage), water quickly accumulated on the surface during a heavy rain event and had to rely on surface runoff to move from the surface.
“Damage had occurred to a number of areas on the oval surface, resulting in a loss of cover, soft and unstable surface and loss of surface shape and levels in these areas.”
The 10-stage intensive renovation program is in the fifth stage where the implementation of new turf is taking place.
The VAFA said the final stage of the project is on track for completion by April 8 in time for the opening round of the VAFA season where Old Melburnians will host University Blues at Elsternwick Park.
After the completion of the program, the ground will still require “intensive and repeated renovation practices to give sufficient relief and benefit” to the oval as the thatch build-up remained a major concern.
Elsternwick Park is the only tier 1 ground alongside Trevor Barker Oval in the Bayside municipality.
VAFA chief executive Jason Reddick said he was pleased the Bayside Council were working on returning the ground to a tier 1 standard oval.
“Our focus has been to ensure that Elsternwick Park is always presented in a condition that all VAFA supporters can be rightly proud of,” Reddick said.
“It has been very pleasing to see that Bayside Council have recognised our concerns and are investing significant resources and engaging the appropriate turf experts to return the Oval back to its traditional ‘tier 1 oval status’.
“We also recognise the support of the local tenant clubs (Elsternwick Cricket Club, Old Melburnians FC and VAFA Umpires) who have been displaced during the maintenance works, appreciating that it is for the long term benefit of all.”
Elsternwick president John Dunnachie said it was disappointing the ground repairs could not occur earlier.
“It’s been really disappointing,” Dunnachie said.
“Unfortunately due to weather the works have got to be done when it was fine.
“It took the first three months I think for Bayside to work out what the best course of action was which probably wasn’t great.
“It took longer than expected. But then they had to wait for it to dry out.
“Once we got some fine weather it certainly helped.”
Dunnachie was pleased with how the players responded to the tough conditions.
“It’s been a great season, all things considering, to go 7-1 into Christmas,” he said.
“Really positive for the season.”
The club lost their first two games after Christmas and currently sit sixth on the ladder.
A return to playing home matches is certain to help Elsternwick’s push for a finals appearance this season.
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