The Grampians Cricket Association has withdrawn its senior side from the annual Country Week cricket carnival in Bendigo this week.
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Association secretary Nic Baird cited a lack of playing numbers for association's decision.
"We just had a lot of blokes having work commitments and what not," Mr Baird said.
"It wasn't through a lack of trying - Sam Cocks made about 30 phone calls last week and I made a similar amount.
"We had six or seven really committed for the whole week, then a couple more for a few of the other days, so in the end, we thought it was in the best interest of the competition that we pull out.
"It wouldn't be fair on the other teams we were meant to be playing to pull out on a few of the games."
Mr Baird said it was hard for players to commit at this time of year.
"It's kind of that awkward period where people might have had that Christmas and New Year period off, and it's hard to get that extra week off work," he said.
"Now is the week that everyone is going back to work or about to go back, which makes it hard."
Mr Baird said a change of date could help the association field a side in the future.
"There's no right answer. They have changed the dates before and won't be able to please everyone," Mr Baird said.
"But as we said, it comes back to work commitments. The Melbourne Country Week competitions don't often play until the middle of February .. so maybe it's something they have a look at from their end."
Mr Baird said it was "absolutely" disappointing to miss out on all the positives associated with Country Week cricket.
"It's a really good standard of cricket - having stayed in division two for another year, it's disappointing we can't get across," he said.
"It's good fun playing against other leagues and testing yourself against other opposition.
"But in saying that it's not just the competition either, it's the off-field side of it too. You meet blokes from other teams and create relationships. It's a lot of fun in that sense, not just the competition."
Mr Baird said he was hopeful the association could return to the competition in the future.
"It's something we want to go back to, if they'll have us back," he said.
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