Victorian Premier Cricket: Let’s start this soggy season

A Victorian Premier Cricket coach says “every possible human effort’’ must be made to start the men’s season, while CV gives the latest update on the fixture.

It’s been the wettest start to a cricket season in 30 years. Picture: Valeriu Campan

Club cricket in Melbourne is almost at crisis point.

Not a ball has been bowled in the Victorian Premier Cricket men’s season — and it’s nearly November.

Frustration among players, coaches, administrators and curators is mounting after the first four Saturdays of the season were washed out — the wettest start since 1992-93 when four of the first five days were abandoned.

Kingston Hawthorn coach Peter Marshall said it was vitally important play got under way this Saturday, citing the mental well-being of participants.

“We’ve had 35 sessions, including three (practice) games, prior to playing a game for points,” he said.

“We just have to pull back because I think blokes are starting to do their heads in.

“Coming off Covid for two years and now this, I think we’ve just got to be careful how we manage peoples mental self.”

Ashley Chandrasinghe batting for Casey South Melbourne and Kingston Hawthorn keeper Joel Lewis. Picture: Valeriu Campan

Marshall added: “Coming into our fifth weekend we’ve got to make every possible human effort to get a game up, whether it be 20, 30, 50 overs, just to let guys go out and have a game of cricket.’’

Cricket Victoria general manager of Premier Cricket Liam Murphy on Monday confirmed the season fixture for the men’s competition would remain “as is’’, with no adjustments.

“At this point in time there won’t be any adjustments to the fixtures,’’ he said.

“But obviously if this is prolonged for another couple of weeks we may have to have a look at things.’’

Murphy said while four Saturdays had been washed out, only two rounds were lost.

“The flexibility that we’ve had as a result of setting two day fixtures at the front end of the season means that we’ve missed two rounds only, so from a competition integrity perspective we are still really aligned,’’ he said.

A two-day game is scheduled to start on Saturday for the men’s competition.

Murphy said clubs wanted two-day cricket after two seasons of one-dayers.

“The fixturing of two day contests was a really big motivation from a playing group and club perspective so we will continue to have that as our standard position,’’ he said.

While there’s been no men’s cricket this season, the women’s Premier Cricket season has been playing for weeks, with a combination of Twenty20s and one-day games — played on Sundays.

“What is positive is that we’ve been able to get the women’s cricket competition up and running and they’ve been able to play a number of rounds,’’ Murphy said.