Regional Victoria is pushing through the 5-Step Plan, set by premier Daniel Andrews. With the numbers dropping there is a great chance Regional Victoria could start playing on the first week November, as per the plan by Cricket Victoria. While for Metro cricket, it is still up in the air, due to the restrictions and councils letting people play cricket due to safety management. With all new rules in place to stop the spread for Covid 19 it is going to be an interesting 2020/21 season. Local cricket will be in a corundum with what to do and how to set plans for the season.
With Associations in Metro Melbourne having eight starting dates it is going to be interesting how and when the Associations will start. Furthermore, Cricket Victoria Guidelines are quite specific and need to be followed if cricket can function in a community form in Victoria. Cricket could start in Regional Victoria on November 14, while for their Metro counterparts, it will be at the mercy of a Dan Andrews decision and case numbers. For Premier Cricket we could see a start of any of these seven dates: 1. 24th October start date (Cut-off date: 10th September), 2. 7th November start date (Cut-off date: 24th September), 3. 21st November start date (Cut-off date: 8th October), 4. 5th December start date (Cut-off date: 29th October), 5. 9th January start date (Cut-off date: 26th November), 6. 23rd January start date (Cut-off date: 10th December) and 7. 30th January start date (Cut-off date: 5th January).
These dates could change once further Government announcements are made and we all know what is going on. Moreover, the format will be up for debate for Regional and Metro Associations. It could be possible that all traditional Two Day grades in all comps be One Dayers due to the uncertainty of the season and One Day games provide more fixturing options. Furthermore, by having this format it could mean that the season will finish on the same time it normally does and could see more matches played. But we will have to wait and see as the case numbers drop in Victoria further, so that sound of willow onto ball could be happening sooner than we thought but until that day we must dream and be flexible to any idea if we want to play cricket in Victoria.
Written By: Patrick Morrow
