Sub-District association circles November 6 for start of season

One-day games will make up the Sub-District fixture and Covid conditions will be in play for the approaching cricket season.

Caulfield batsman David Tantsis-Hall hits out in last season’s grand final against Ormond.

The white ball will by flying in the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association in 2021-22.

Amid much uncertainty over Victoria coming out of lockdown, the VSDCA executive met on Monday night to discuss options for next season and circled the first Saturday of November as a tentative starting date.

As with last season, all matches will be played as one-dayers, with players to wear coloured clothing.

“What we’re thinking of doing – and of course this is all subject to health advice – is aiming to play a practice round that we’ll organise on October 30 and then we’d move into our competition-proper on November 6,’’ Subbies secretary Ken Hilton said.

“But it’s all based on the State Government allowing community sport to start training.

“None of our clubs have been able to train. Some had one session. We have to give them a couple of weeks for preparation and that’s what we’re looking at doing.

Blake Nicolic batting for Box Hill against Brighton.

“If the government says community sport can go back to training in, say, the first week of October, they can have a couple of weeks of training, play a practice round on the 30th (of October) and then we can get stuck into the competition from November 6.’’

Under that scenario, 15 one-day matches will make up the home-and-away rounds.

Last season there were 13 rounds with 14 teams in each group.

Owing to the expansion in the off-season there are now 16 teams in each group and the VSDCA must play 15 rounds.

If all five Saturdays in October cannot be used, Sub-Districts officials will be left with one spare weekend to deal with any disruptions to the season, be it for Covid or wet weather.

Matches will revert back to 45 overs (they were 40 last season).

The firsts, seconds and thirds will start at 12.30pm.

The fourths will play 40 overs per innings and start at 1pm.

The club groupings will be north/east and south/west section (the thirds and fourths have separate structured competitions).

And all games will be played under strict Covid 19 protocols, with players and umpires to bring their own food and drinks, umpires not to handle caps or jumpers, and the ball to be cleaned.

The VSDCA is reluctant to schedule Sunday play after Christmas given a busy program of John Craig Shield and the twilight T20 competition, as well as Melbourne Country Week.

In Victorian Premier Cricket, the season is scheduled to start on October 23 if Victoria comes out of lockdown by October 1.

That is “scenario four’’ on the list of nine possible starting dates presented to clubs.

Premier officials have stated that players need a three-week build-up before Round 1.

If scenario five (October 30-31 starting date) applies, all matches are set down as one-dayers.

But competitions manager Darren Anderson said it was possible the fixture could be tweaked.

“Obviously there is a desire for red-ball cricket, given the fact that we didn’t have any last season,’’ he said.

“The current environment of Covid does make red-ball cricket hard in trying to work out how to fit it in without compromising the competition.

“At this stage scenario five is 17 rounds of one-day cricket. But there’s a bit to work through. Once we know where we sit we can do that with the clubs and find out what they want from the season.’’

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