Mornington Peninsula Cricket Association looks to start 2020-21 season on time
One of Melbourne suburban cricket’s first balls will be bowled on the Mornington Peninsula in season 2020-21 after the MPCA settled on a starting date for its competition.
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Contingency plans are in place.
But the Mornington Peninsula Cricket Association intends to start its 2020-21 season on time — on Saturday, October 3.
It would mean the MPCA would be one of the first suburban competitions to get going.
“Nothing’s official but that’s what we are aiming for,’’ MPCA general manager Ian Benson said.
The Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association announced this week it had locked in a starting date of October 10.
Benson said contingency plans would be in place if the MPCA season was disrupted by COVID-19, including playing more one-day games to fit in 14 rounds if the season was cut short.
“I’ve put a list together,’’ he said.
He said the MPCA board would have a Zoom meeting in the coming weeks with club captains, administrators and umpires to discuss the mechanics of a season in COVID times.
The MPCA’s 2019-20 season was cancelled before senior grand finals weekend because of the coronavirus crisis.
Benson said he wouldn’t be surprised if local footballers played cricket this summer as they sought to get their sporting fix after missing out on their season.
But he conceded cricketers over the age of 60 might be put off from playing amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The MPCA annual general meeting scheduled for this month has been postponed until September because of the COVID-19 restrictions.
“And if need be we will have to do it by Zoom,” Benson said.
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