Melbourne Country Week to be decided by cricket officials

A historic cricket competition showcasing regional Victoria’s best players is again on the rocks as officials prepare for crisis talks over its future.

What looms as a major celebration for Victorian country cricket could soon turn to disappointment.

Crisis talks will be held on Wednesday night as officials meet to decide the fate of Melbourne Country Week for 2022.

This year would mark the 100th year of the competition being played.

There is now a real possibility the tournament, which is meant to be held between February 14 and 18, could be called off for a second straight year due to Covid.

It comes after the reigning champion Bendigo pulled out of the competition citing Covid.

Victorian Country Cricket League president Kelvin White confirmed to Leader on Wednesday a subcommittee would meet on Wednesday to decide the next steps.

President of the Bendigo District Cricket Association Travis Harling said his competition had elected to take a “cautious” approach.

“There are so many different factors we had to consider when making the decision,” he said.

“Our players will be sharing buses and rooms in accommodation. They might be together during the day but then they’ll go out for dinner.

“We didn’t want to run the risk of someone catching the virus and having to send everyone home.

“It’s unfortunate we’ve decided to have another hiatus but we think it’s the best thing for us to do.”

The Bellarine Peninsula Cricket Association (BPCA) took out division three in 2020. Picture: Stephen Harman

Goulburn Murray Cricket confirmed on Wednesday it had also decided to withdraw its entry confirming similar reasons to those of their neighbouring association, Bendigo.

If the tournament still does run next month it will feature a showcase game between the Ballarat and Hamilton associations who played in the first final 100 years ago.

Covid wreaks havoc in local associations

As the number of Covid cases continue to grow regionally, local cricket officials find themselves continuing to move the season on the run.

On Wednesday, the Warrnambool and District Cricket Association elected to postpone the upcoming weekend’s fixtures.

In a statement it said the decision was made due to the extent of the “known player numbers affected by Covid”.

Earlier this month, Bendigo extended its mid-season break until January 22 in response to growing case numbers.

“Most clubs had up to nine players impacted so we thought it was a sensible decision,” president Travis Harling said.