Club cricket in the Grampians region is in desperate need of help.
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Many clubs are struggling to field 11 players for their scheduled matches, with clubs sometimes fielding the minimum of seven players or being forced to forfeit.
In the Grampians Cricket Association alone, multiple forfeits have been recorded, including at least one round where two teams were unable to field the required number of players. It meant one of the competition’s other teams missed out on games for about a month.
READ MORE: Two teams forfeit in B grade
But country cricket is not the only area with a problem when it comes to cricket numbers, with larger competitions are also feeling the pinch.
Horsham Cricket Association president Tony Wills said it was no surprise the sport was in this position.
“It’s been coming for a few years. It’s a type of game where you love it or you don’t,” he said.
“It’s not just an Ararat problem or a local problem, but it’s a cricket problem in general.
“This particular problem is statewide and goes right down to Warrnambool who have traditionally been a strong competition. You even have the situation where in Hamilton they are not sending teams up to a junior cricket carnival this year, and in the past they have sent two teams every year.
“So the problem is now in Hamilton, who have been a very strong cricket region.”
Mr Wills also believes traditional forms of cricket such as the long format of the game is not appealing to those who are not cricket purists.
“One part of cricket that is thriving is the twenty20 cricket because it is high action, high octane and it’s over in two or three hours,” he said.
“Whereas test cricket you have a situation where a batsman might take an hour to score and there will be some good tight bowling, but the only one who loves that is the purist.
“The idea of fielding for 70 or 75 overs on a day where it is 38 degrees, there is no commitment anymore.”
Mr Wills believes part of the reason why cricket clubs are struggling stems back to juniors.
“I think these days kids have too many things to do especially on the traditional Saturday morning,” he said.
“Kids now have to work and there are too many things that they have to put their attention to, and cricket is losing out.
“When they reach the age where we need to hold onto them and make them grow into the 25-year-old cricketers that we need to run boards and committees, other commitments are on and there are other aspects on as well.
“All other activities come ahead of cricket and cricket becomes, ‘Oh well I will fill in if they need’. I think it is just the society today.”
Grampians Cricket Association president David Turner said he felt sorry for the clubs and players who wanted to play.
“It is disappointing. You can field a side with only seven players, but in a lot of ways that is not really fair on the ones who do turn up to play,” he said.
“They turn up and they get beaten, especially when they play the stronger sides, and then they drop out so you lose more players.”
Mr Turner said the problem boiled down to two things: one is work is taking precedence over cricket; the other is the number of other sporting options and commitments, particularly regarding football.
“A lot of jobs now are weekend jobs where they never used to be,” he said.
“I think football is creeping into it a bit more too.
“Players are getting paid to play and therefore they are signing contracts. Part of that is that they have to turn up to training and a lot of the times now that is creeping into cricket training and they are under obligation to go to football.
“It is really pushing the boundaries and cricket as a sport as well.
“Some of the kids are playing other sports, especially futsal in Ararat. It starts right at the end of football season and that is another six to eight weeks before cricket season starts. The parents are saying, ‘It’s either one or the other, you can’t do both’.”
Grampians Cricket Association has identified this problem and tried to make the sport more appealing by creating a twenty20 competition. But to the association’s disappointment, only four teams entered.
”I don’t know if that is the answer,” Mr Turner said.
“A lot of (the clubs) don’t want to play the twenty20. What happens is your best players get to bat and bowl all the time, and if you bring some kids in all they do is make up the numbers in the fielding positions.
“I really don’t know what the answer is, we’ve been trying to work solutions for them.
“It’s not just our local area that’s affected by it – it’s across Australia. When we occasionally go to regional meetings and the common theme is that they are struggling too in the lower levels of senior cricket and your upper levels of junior cricket.”
Clinton Rodger who plays for Aradale Cricket Club, believes there is another reason why cricket clubs are struggling.
“It is just the decline in the population in the region and I think that is an issue people are overlooking,” he said.
“Also if you do not have the juniors coming up and the older brigade obviously get older and one or two at the club decide to retire, it does leave a gaping hole with some clubs.
“It’s one of those things. If the juniors aren't there to make the club stronger and make your club go on, it can be a reason that clubs have to forfeit.
“They are left with no other opportunity and no other reason to go on – they have made the decision to forfeit as they can’t field a side.
“It is difficult not only our club but all clubs in the region. Other associations are facing the same problem.
“It’s a big issue country-wide.”
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