CRICKET is the next big sport off the rank to be plagued by lockdown restrictions.
Both Cricket Goulburn Murray (CGM) and Cricket Shepparton had pencilled in a start date of October 3, however that timeline looks unlikely.
Chairman of CGM, Jason Turner, said the start date remained up in the air, with the league drafting at least five different fixtures for different season time frames and match formats. The league held a meeting last Wednesday night.
“It’s really hard to see us getting out to play come October, and we’ll look to find the best formats for a limited time, be it more one-day cricket or 20/20 matches” he said.
President of Cricket Shepparton, David D’Elia, said the league hoped to run “as close to a normal season as possible”.
The current stage three lockdown for regional Victoria is due to expire on September 16, and if it does, Mr D’Elia said it’s possible the region would go back to the level of restrictions which allowed for junior sport, however not senior sport.
“We’ll get juniors out on the park as soon as possible if restrictions go back to where they were,” he said.
Assuming senior sport can return a further six weeks beyond mid-September, Mr D’Elia said he was hopeful the seniors could be padding up and shining balls come mid-November, factoring in three-weeks of preseason.
Cricket Shepparton will hold its AGM on Monday, August 24.
