CRICKET - OUR ROADMAP FOR SEASON 2021/22

Cricket Victoria is confident that Victoria’s roadmap out of coronavirus could see the summer cricket season starting in mid November.
Getting to each of these steps is subject to Victoria meeting vaccination targets.
Cricket Victoria is seeking information about when clubs are permitted to train, and when access to pavilions and changerooms may be provided by Councils.
While acknowledging that each association will set its own season commencement date, Cricket Victoria recommends that all competitions set their Round 1 fixtures to start from the weekend after Melbourne Cup week – November 13/14, and that the seasons comprise only one-day games and Twenty20s.
Remember that the 2020/21 season started on November 14/15 for our Mercantile Thirds and Fourths and our NWMCA Sixths, and November 21/22 for VTCA and for our other NWMCA teams.
Cricket Victoria supports its November 13/14 start recommendation with advice that given the season delay, potential for localized lockdowns and the expected wet summer, delaying too far will further erode the chance of maximizing the number of games played.
It acknowledges it’s a far-from-ideal preparation for a season with the current travel limitations and delay to training sessions.
However, it’s expected that from the start of October vaccinated players in groups of five can have a hit of cricket in the nets or on ovals within 15km. If vaccination targets are met, organized training could start around the end of October.
Based on this advice, the NWMCA – the competition for our senior teams from the Fourths down – has factored in a season start on Saturday November 13 for the two day grades, and November 20/21 for one-day grades. Note that the NWMCA has already determined that all matches for the season will be one-dayers.
The NWMCA advises that preparation and publishing of fixtures is still some time away as it:

• Awaits the amended standard fixture from the VMCU.
• Tries to sort out a number of ground allocation issues (7 or 8 grounds unavailable across the association for part or all of season 21/22, including Debney Park).
• Works out where teams can fit (gradings and sections). It is working through more than 500 teams (close to a 10% increase, and having to find some unique solutions to fitting teams onto grounds).

 It will advise soon of fixture start dates for Junior cricket and Female Cricket.

Mercantile Cricket Association – our Thirds and Fourths – advises clubs should start tentatively planning.
“The Executive's aim is for Saturday grades to play a season of 16 rounds commencing November 13, with semis on March 19 and GFs on March 26, reserve day March 27.
“Sunday grades would have a 15-round season, with semis March 13, GFs March 20, and reserve day March 27.”
Mercantile says no advice has yet been received on whether players and umpires will need to be fully vaccinated to play/train/officiate, or the process for checking this.
But it says full vaccination is a good chance to be required by November 13, and all are advised to get their jabs ASAP due to the typical six-week wait between first and second shots.
See Cricket Victoria’s latest statement here:
https://www.cricketvictoria.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/23rd-Sept.-2021-COVID-19-Roadmap-Interim-2.pdf