LIAM DURKIN
CRICKET
LVDCL
BY LIAM DURKIN
ANOTHER false start for the Latrobe Valley and District Cricket League.
Round 2 action in the LVDCL was abandoned, after a second week of rain left the majority of grounds unplayable.
The LVDCL again made the call early Friday, giving players plenty of notice to at least salvage something from the weekend.
While there was some hope of ‘getting on’, heavy downpours over Thursday eventually put to rest any such hope.
By the time Thursday night training rolled around, most players were confined indoors, with
bicep curls about the only physical exercise being undertaken.
These bicep curls were of a particular different sort however, as dumbbells were replaced by cans of beer.
Not professing to know much about meteorology, but with such a wet start to the season, there is surely every chance cricketers will be playing amid a drought this time next year.
Despite no matches going ahead, club officials still had a bit to ponder, as under LVDCL by-laws, matches count for all players listed in an abandoned game.
Those with an appreciation for proper cricket statistics will know that only matches where a coin toss has taken place are included in records; however, the local rules state otherwise.
With this in mind, clubs need to be careful just who they select in an abandoned game, while those perhaps a little more clued on may have used the first two weeks to think ahead.
Granted finals are a long way out, there is generally a mad dash closer to the end of the regular season to get people qualified.
Some cheeky selections are guaranteed around February, with players being thrown onto team sheets knowing full well they won’t be getting to the game on time.
During winter a similar concept arises in football, with some coaches confident enough of achieving victory in a lopsided home-and-away fixture that they will select a player who is not fully fit but earmarked to play finals to fill a spot on the bench.
There is surely nothing more suspect when a player runs onto the field for literally 15 seconds and off again just to get them qualified.
Club secretaries certainly have a lot on their plate.
LVDCL Round 3 fixture: Morwell v Traralgon West (at Keegan St), Latrobe v Trafalgar (Peter Siddle), MTY Raiders v Willow Grove (Yinnar Turf), Churchill v Jeeralang-Boolarra (George Cain), CATS v Centrals (McGregor Reserve, Yallourn North), Mirboo North v Moe (Mirboo North Turf).
