Bairnsdale pre-season cricket matches are on again

Moonee Valley Cricket Club is again contesting two pre-season games against Bairnsdale-based Lucknow Cricket Club.

Lucknow - where we visited in the 2009/10 pre-season - will be hosting a turf game and a hard-wicket game at its picturesque ground on the eastern side of Bairnsdale.

The games are on Saturday, September 24 - which is AFL Preliminary Final weekend. They will start about 11am, so the games should be over in time for our players to watch the Saturday prelim, which should be a night game.

We will be able to arrange accommodation through the Grand Terminus Hotel, which is one of Lucknow's sponsors.

Based on our previous trip, we expect some of our members will travel down Friday, some Saturday. Some will stay one or both nights, and some will return to Melbourne Saturday evening.

We can arrange transport for those who need it. We ideally need to ensure we have a minimum of 22 players so that both teams are full and competitive.

Our main contact person for trip arrangements is First Eleven captain Mark Gauci. People wanting more information or to confirm their availability should ring Mark on 0488 288 873 0457 778 335 or log on and accept via the Club's Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/MVCC.Cricket

We are also seeking to arrange another couple of practice games in the weekend before the Bairnsdale trip - preferably with a club in our north west region.

We missed a Lucknow trip last pre-season because of a lack of dates that suited both us and the hosts.

Lucknow CC beat us in both games in 2009/10 - which was the lead-up to the season when we won our Firsts and Seconds premierships.

Lucknow CC president Paul Garry is hinting at getting a trophy made up for what will hopefully become annual contests - and we intend to get our hands on it this time!