CRICKET
The newly-formed Latrobe Valley Cricket Association has confirmed its A grade competition will take on a two-divisional structure with six sides in each ready to take to the field in time for the 2018/19 season.
Premier A will be made up of Morwell, MTY Raiders, Moe, Mirboo North, Churchill and CATS and A grade will comprise Jeeralang-Boolarra, Latrobe, Trafalgar, Yallourn North, Centrals and Traralgon West.
The decision was made at the LVCA’s inaugural board meeting on Monday where two sub-committees were put to work to determine the league’s administration requirements, bylaws and broader competition structure.
LVCA president Wayne Mills reflected on the formation of the new association and admitted he “didn’t think we’d be here 12 months ago”.
“I didn’t think [the association] would go through the way it did but I didn’t think a breakaway would happen either,” Mills said.
“But this is all about everybody involved wanting cricket to grow in the Latrobe Valley and for a much more even competition across all grades.”
The LVCA board was also elected at its inaugural annual general meeting last week.
Craig Giddens has been appointed director of representative teams and Dean Burridge will take on the role of director of junior cricket and development.
Wayne Harvey will serve as vice-president and director of cricket and Sarah Prime will be an administrator.
Jamie Coltman has been named treasurer, John Wirz will be director of umpiring and Brad Howlett and Peter Duncan have been named general board members.
Duncan, also CATS president, said his club was “decided pretty early” where it stood with regard to the LVCA.
“It came back to the amount of detail that was in the report the review committee put together,” he said.
“Clubs have moved leagues before but this time everyone believes in it.”
He flagged the two-divisional A grade structure of the LVCA as a huge drawcard for clubs that have struggled to remain competitive under a single division model.
“If you look at a side like Traralgon West – they haven’t won a game in five years. You can’t keep going like that,” he said.
“They’re going to be competitive in division two, and that’s what it’s about, making it fair.
“It’s not about elitism. For the clubs it’s about getting as many people playing cricket as possible and that’s what we want.”
Mills said “smaller clubs” who couldn’t field an A grade side would still thrive under the LVCA.
“If clubs don’t have an A grade [side], they’ve still got B and C and I can really see them growing under this structure,” he said.
Yallourn North’s John Wirz said the club would field sides across all days for the first time “in a long time”.
“Our club is really looking forward now. We’ve actually put in an A grade side this year and we’ve already started recruiting and have seven players,” Wirz said.
“The town is abuzz about the new format and everyone is really looking forward to it.”
While Mills admitted “nothing is going to perfect within 12 months”, he said the LVCA’s vision was long-term.
“It’s about what cricket is going to look like in five years time,” he said.
“If nothing changed I think a lot of clubs would be in a lot of trouble down the track. It’s about the future and health of cricket in the Latrobe Valley.”
