Check-up Prescribes Quality Not Quantity For District Cricket

Newcastle Herald

Tuesday October 28, 2008

NEIL GOFFET

THE Newcastle District Cricket Association competition will be reduced to 10 teams if the advice of a subcommittee formed to look at the future of the game is taken.

The committee was put together last season to produce a criteria document for clubs to follow and to formulate a competition review.

It was made up of eight past players and officials, and input was also received from leading player Rhys Soper, who was unable to attend meetings but received all correspondence.

The committee unanimously concluded that the competition should be reduced to 10 teams for the start of the 2010-11 competition.

"We believe there are three methods whereby the number of participating clubs can be reduced to 10 teams," the report said.

Those methods were:

? the merging of four existing clubs into two, which is the preferred option;

? withdrawal/financial failure of existing club or clubs; and

? exclusion of existing club or clubs.

The committee concluded there needs to be 132 players of first-grade standard to maintain 12 teams and believed that has never been the case.

They added that the number of players who did not fall into that top bracket had never been higher than in recent years, with no sign of that trend changing.

Initial general discussions resulted in unanimous opinion that there were major concerns with the current competition that needed to be addressed.

These were primarily insufficient players approaching first-grade standard to support the current 12-team structure, and increasing problems with grounds in regard to availability, standard, cost, maintenance and multiple sports use.

The report said clubs needed to merge, but those involved were also aware that clubs have had problems doing this in the past.

The committee highlighted the fact that "tradition" seemed to be getting in the way of merger talks and encouraged clubs to look at the bigger picture.

Financial assistance and grants towards grounds and facilities would be offered to clubs which merge if they adopt the advice of the subcommittee.

Meanwhile, Western Suburbs have vowed to fight on following a meeting with NDCA officials last night.

The meeting was called after the Rosellas failed to field teams for third- and fourth-grade matches last round.

But they have 54 registered players and have until Thursday to convince the NDCA they can field a fourth-grade side for the rest of the season.

NDCA chairman Paul Marjoribanks said the club needed to have a minimum of 60 registered players to continue with fourth grade but, if not, he was happy for them to field three grades for the rest of this season.

Warne feels for Lee, Page 57

© 2008 Newcastle Herald

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