Warragul and District Cricket Association to get underway on October 10
The cricket season starts next week for a local association in the south-east, and players can’t wait.
South East
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Players are bursting with enthusiasm ahead of the start of the Warragul and District Cricket Association season on Saturday, October 10.
With the State Government easing restrictions in regional areas to allow community sport, the WDCA will be one of the first country comps to get underway.
But there’s a twist.
Four of the association’s clubs — Iona, Bunyip, Garfield/Tynong and Catani — are based in Cardinia Shire, which is in the metropolitan zone.
They can participate but only players residing in regional areas are eligible to play.
So, the WDCA has come up with the COVID Cup – a five-week one-day tournament from October 10 to November 8 or 14.
It’s separate to the regular WDCA season, which is likely to commence on November 14.
WDCA president Michael Nielson said the idea of the COVID Cup was to get people playing some sort of competitive cricket.
“It’s not so much a must-win, goes-down-in-history comp,’’ Nielson said.
“A lot of people are hanging out to be doing it.
“It’s a shame we have to muck things around as far as our competition, having four clubs in Cardinia (Shire), but what we’ve done by organizing a separate competition for five weeks is what we thought was the best thing to get people playing cricket as soon as possible.’’
Clubs in the region have been training for a couple of weeks.
Iona, Bunyip, Garfield/Tynong and Catani were invited to enter teams (of eligible players) for the COVID Cup but only Iona has taken up the offer.
All of their games will obviously be “away’’ games.
“I think they’ve been training in Drouin, the players that are eligible,’’ Nielson said.
“I think we are going to have 28 or 29 teams playing in the COVID Cup competition which is better than what we thought we might get.’’
The much-anticipated return of cricket has attracted some quality players, with Casey South Melbourne pair Nathan Lambden and Jordie Wyatt to line-up with Drouin in preparation for the Premier Cricket season.
Drouin will be coached by former Tooradin bowler Troy Lehman and has also picked up former Long Island captain Aaron Paxton and Prahran batsman Cameron McPhan.
The top grades will use a four-piece white cricket ball and games will be 40-overs per side.
Former Officer player Daniel Glen has joined Garfield/Tynong. Pakenham Upper Toomuc paceman Lucas Plozza joins Ellinbank.
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