Thirds and Fifths matches December 5 called off: NOTE - PRACTICE MATCH SUNDAY ON ORMOND TURF

Moreland Moonee Valley Cricket Association has called off all its turf games for the December 4 and 5 weekend. This includes our Thirds and Fifths.

The Association's decision is understandable, given advice it received from the Moreland Council - which curates the majority of the MMVCA turf wickets - that it could not get on to prepare them on Friday.

However, in its advice to clubs, the MMVCA indicated that it had been advised that the Ormond Park pitch would also not be ready.

This is not the case, and our curator, Ian Beel, had been working on the pitch with a view to having wickets ready for our VTCA game on Saturday and our Thirds game on Sunday.

I ascertained that no-one from our Club gave any advice to the MMVCA that our pitch would not be ready, and indeed we would not withdraw our pitch from play and deny our players the chance of a game without taking all appropriate measures.

Further investigation showed that our First Eleven captain, Mark Gauci, turned on the Ormond Park floodlights about 11.30pm Thursday when he saw movement on our pitch. He then saw a man inside the ropes surrounding the pitch, and went and challenged him.

This man was a MMVCA representative, who then asked Mark about the state of the pitch. Mark advised him the strangers walking on it in the dark would not assist in getting it ready for play.

It would appear that this conversation was interpreted as our pitch not being ready - and we endorse Mark's view that he would not have given any advice that our pitch would not be ready for a Sunday game. This is particularly so as Mark had been in constant touch with our curator, Ian Beel, about pitch preparation and covers with a view to making wickets available for play.

We have since further advised the MMVCA on the correct process to liaise with our Club in terms of advice on wicket preparation.

Charlie Walker.
President,
Moonee Valley Cricket Club.

3/12/10