Buckley Ridges threatens to leave DDCA over loss of points

A mainstay of local cricket is considering leaving the Dandenong association after being penalised for not using covers.

Wes Nicholas batting for DDCA stalwart Buckley Ridges.

Dandenong District Cricket Association powerhouse Buckley Ridges says it’s considering walking away from the competition.

The club, established in 1927 and one of the mainstays of the association, is furious at being stripped of three points over a washout draw in Turf 1 on Saturday, December 19.

The DDCA penalised Buckley for failing to put covers over the wicket ahead of the Round 5 match against Springvale South at Park Oval.

The club said it did everything possible to get the covers down.

It will seek an appeal to the Victorian Metropolitan Cricket Union (VMCU), the governing body of local cricket.

It says it’s also prepared to take the issue to Cricket Victoria.

Last night long-serving Buckley official Chris Rattle emailed DDCA secretary John Brooks asking about the VMCU appeal process.

He added that Buckley’s committee and members “have decided that this will be our last season in the DDCA’’.

“We will be moving to another competition at the end of the season. Thanks for all your help over the years,’’ he said.

The DDCA match committee sought a please-explain from Buckley Ridges over the match against South not going ahead, pointing out clubs had been warned there would be “harsh penalties if games do not get played due to covers not being placed down”.

It said a message was sent out at 3.15pm on the Thursday before the fixture that covers had to be used but they weren’t down by 5pm when rain came through Dandenong.

The club did, however, put them down at Greaves Reserve for the Third XI match.

Buckley answered that a chain of events beyond its control – including it having no access to the curator’s cage at Greaves Reserve, leading to a 30-minute delay, and the absence of the Park Oval groundsman due to injury – led to the wicket not being covered.

It said that as late as Saturday morning it was trying to get a pitch up for the match, which the club had promoted as a past players’ day and a Christmas break-up.

Buckley also said there was only an hour between the DDCA direction to use covers and the arrival of rain, “unreasonable’’ for volunteers on a working day.

It said it contacted a DDCA official on the Thursday night to report the wicket was wet, and it was told to keep the covers off.

This morning Buckley Ridges president Sonny De Silva said the club had run out of “patience and ideas’’ in its dealings with the association.

He said Buckley had been frustrated at a number of decisions going against it over the years.

De Silva said the penalty over the covers was “extremely disappointing’’ and “unreasonable’’.

“We put a lot of time and effort into being a successful cricket club … something like makes you think it’s just not worth it and the future lies elsewhere,’’ he said.

“This (loss of three points) is the culmination of a lot of things.’’

Asked about the prospect of the club leaving the DDCA, he said it would ultimately be up to the members.

Applying to join the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association or Cricket Southern Bayside were options, he said.

Buckley Ridges is running 14 teams – six in seniors and eight in juniors – this season.

DDCA president Mick Hawking said this morning that Buckley Ridges was entitled to pursue all appeals available to it.

He said the club was an “absolute powerhouse’’ in the DDCA “and we can’t afford to be losing clubs like them … it would be very sad to them go elsewhere’’.