Cricket Victoria seeks road map details as it tries to plan season
October 26 has been earmarked as a return to training but it’s still a waiting game for Victorian cricket for Round 1.
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Cricket Victoria will hold talks with the State Government in the next two days as it tries to plan the start of the 2021-22 season.
As part of its road map out of lockdown, the government today indicated community sport could start training on October 26, when 70 per cent of Victoria’s eligible population is forecast to be double-vaccinated.
But from there cricket and other sports would need the OK to move from training to playing.
If that was to happen quickly, the Premier Cricket season could begin from mid to late-November.
Under a nine-point plan presented to clubs last month, CV said players would need at least three weeks of training before Round 1.
Last season began on November 22 with women’s Firsts matches.
The men started on November 28 and all games were played under one-day conditions.
In a memo today, Cricket Victoria head of association and club support Pail Milo said: “Following the announcement of the road map to reopening today, I’ll be working with the State Government over the next 48 hours to gain the exact, specific details of the easing of restrictions for each of the outdoor and indoor sectors and for both metro and regional across the various milestones (for vaccination) to ensure we provide accurate information for modified training, normal training and the return to matches.’’
He said it was important to get the right information to assist local government, associations and clubs to plan the season.
Milo said a detailed update would be made once the coming-out-of-lockdown rules were confirmed.
He said people could look forward to the summer of cricket “at some stage soon’’.
Asked two weeks ago about the prospect of another season of one-dayers, CV competitions manager Darren Anderson said it was possible fixtures 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.’’
The Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association previously announced it hoped to start the season on November 6, after a round of practice matches.
But it will now have to go back to the drawing board.
The Subbies are resigned to playing another season of one-day games, with teams in the firsts, seconds and thirds to each receive 45 overs.
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