Cricket Southern Bayside: Board backs Parkdale to stay in Championship

Parkdale will stay in the Championship of Cricket Southern Bayside, with the board deciding to keep Aspendale in Division 1.

Parkdale’s Greg Galloway batting against Bentleigh last season.

The Cricket Southern Bayside board has chosen Parkdale over Aspendale to fill the final position in the eight-club Championship Division for 2019-20.

With Mordialloc joining CSB and going straight to the highest grade, officials had to decide whether to keep Parkdale in the top grade or drop it and promote Division 1 premier Aspendale.

Both clubs were eager to play in the Championship.

The board last night sided with the Two Blues, ratifying a recommendation from the competition advisory group.

The advisory panel had voted 4-2 to support Parkdale, largely on the basis that the competition rules did not allow for a club that finished seventh in the Championship to be relegated.

Last-placed McKinnon had already taken the drop.

“Yes, it ultimately came down to the way the current CSB rule is written in regards to regrading, promotion and relegation,’’ Cricket Southern Bayside operations manager Darren Anderson said.

“Their (advisory panel) interpretation was that there were no grounds for Parkdale to be relegated, having finished seventh out of eight teams last season, and being replaced by a club coming up a division.’’

But two members of the advisory group felt strongly enough about Aspendale going up that they challenged the rule.

“They felt Aspendale should be promoted as a premier, regardless of how the rule reads,’’ Anderson said.

“The other four members voted for Parkdale on the basis that the wording of the rules said it couldn’t happen.

“I think the wording is clear. I think it’s more the fact that the two who voted for Aspendale are strong in the belief that a premier deserves the right to go up.’’

Anderson called new Aspendale president Jason Orchard after the board meeting to inform him of the decision.

He said Orchard was disappointed but accepting.

“It’s really encouraging that they want to test themselves as the best in the competition,’’ he said.

“With their young playing group and the proposal they put forward to the board, they were really quite strong about it.

“They were super-keen, basically banging down the door, which is fantastic. I know when they were in a past competition (the VTCA) they didn’t necessarily want to go up because of the travel and so on.’’

Ahead of the vote Parkdale announced the return of ex-Sri Lankan Test batsman Michael Vandort. But Anderson said recruiting played no part in the decision.

With St Brigids St Louis also joining CSB and being graded in Division 1, Middle Park has been relegated to Division 2.