Sub-District cricket: vote to decide on four new clubs

The Victorian Sub-District Association will expand to 32 clubs next season if four more are admitted next month.

Chris Williams bowling for Strathmore, one of four clubs in line to join the VSDCA.

The four clubs trying to join the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association will find out next month if they will be accepted to the competition.

The VSDCA board is recommending that Strathmore, Port Melbourne, Donvale and Spotswood join Subbies, increasing it to 32 clubs and creating four groups of eight.

This week the board will present its 28 clubs with a paper discussing the expansion.

Association officials are aiming to have delegates vote on it by the end of April.

VSDCA secretary Ken Hilton said expansion had been “in the melting pot for three or four years’’.

“The board thinks we’ve had enough discussions now,’’ Hilton said.

“We’ve met with the clubs, they’ve presented their plans, they’ve ticked all the boxes we wanted them to tick, so now it’s time to test the vote across the 28 clubs.

“We had a delegates’ meeting a week or so ago. We told the delegates we’re very close to finalising an expansion paper. We’ll send it to each club’s president and secretary. They’ll be asked to discuss it at committee level and provide us with some written feedback and then the board’s intention it to test the vote in late April.

“We think it’s a good time to move forward with it. We’ve consulted heavily with Cricket Victoria. We’ve sought guidance from them and done things with their support.’’

Hilton said the VSDCA board was “strongly recommending’’ the clubs be welcomed to Sub-District cricket.

He said four groups of eight clubs would create flexibility with the lower XIs and the new clubs would extend VSDCA’s reach across Melbourne.

Hilton said a string of clubs had approached the Subbies about affiliation in the past two years, showing the competition was held in high regard.

Jagger Skilbeck batting for Spotswood in the VTCA this season.

“We believe it (expansion) would consolidate our position in the Victorian cricket structure,’’ he said.

“We see ourselves as the second level of cricket and we think 32 is strong.

“We’re very keen to establish a strong relationship with the Premier clubs. We’re exploring with some of them what synergies we’ve got, where we could help them in the future.’’

Of the four aspirants, only Strathmore (VTCA) played in the first division of its competition this season, reaching the semi-finals.

Spotswood was in the second tier of the VTCA and Donvale the second grade of the Eastern Cricket Association.

Port Melbourne was in the third division of Cricket Southern Bayside, finishing in the top four.

If the vote goes with four new clubs, it will be a return to the VSDCA for Port Melbourne.

A foundation club in 1908, it dropped out in 2002 because of a shortage of players.

Hilton said the VSDCA knew the proposed affiliates would need to improve their playing lists but the clubs had plans to do so.

“I think Phil’s (Subbies president Phil O’Meara) attitude is that clubs find their level,’’ he said.

“We don’t expect any of these four to be playing off for a premiership in the next couple of years. It will take them a while to find their feet. The four of them have excellent junior programs and they’ve got plans on how to improve their playing strength.

“All the other things … council liaison, facilities, financial stability … all that was discussed and checked and then the board said to the clubs, come and present to us and convince us why you should be in Sub-District cricket.

“Each one of them was questioned about where they’re playing at the moment and what their plans are to build their playing strength. Some will recruit additional players, some will bring boys up from the juniors. The plans are good. They’re robust.’’

Hilton said the VSDCA board had no particular concerns about any of the existing 28 clubs.

The Subbies last added a club in 2016-17, Taylors Lakes.